


Battle Lines

by jinxed_wood



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Ensemble Cast, F/M, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-01-07 12:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 60,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1119998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxed_wood/pseuds/jinxed_wood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Battle Lines [Dark Season 2 AU] The little cheerleader had seemed the perfect candidate for Klaus's purposes, an outlier of the herd if you will, but as he tried to bend her to his will, it quickly became apparent she was not the pushover she had first appeared to be...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Turning her had been an accident.

He had needed a spy and Caroline Forbes, little Miss Blonde and Perky, with a naturally nosy disposition and a friendship with the Doppelganger, had seemed like the perfect candidate. Also, she was rather beautiful and Klaus liked beautiful things. That silly little vervein necklace she wore around her neck was hardly any protection at all, they should have made her drink it… but then they would have had to tell her that monsters were real.

Not that Caroline Forbes didn't already know that, deep down, under all the compulsion.

He cornered her one fine autumn's evening after cheer practice, admiring the way the short gym skirt flared and showed off her toned legs as he approached. He noted with amusement the braids in her hair.

An unsure smile hovered on her lips as her eyes slid up and down his body as he approached. Little Miss Forbes was not exactly subtle and he could practically hear the two tracks of thought going through her mind. The first one that told her she was looking at a hot older guy and the second one asked her what the hell was a hot older guy doing wandering around the halls of a high school.

But sweet little Caroline Forbes didn't have time to figure out whether he was hottie or foe before he ripped her necklace from her throat. " _Stay very, very still_ ," he intoned as he caught her chin and looked into her eyes.

Her eyes gleamed with fear as they dilated but her feet stayed firmly planted on the ground and her arms limp at her side. "How…how are you doing this?"

Klaus smirked. "It's called compulsion, love. And, believe it or not, this is not your first trip on the merry-go-round – _now be quiet, there's a sweetheart_." As amusing as her current state of ignorance was, he didn't have time for twenty questions. He ran a finger down her cheek, still rounded with baby fat. She really was a delectable thing. It was a pity he didn't have the time to play with her but he _was_ on a clock. He happened to know the council were planning something for the next evening's activities, probably instigated by the new Gilbert in town. He needed to get his new piece in play before the fun began.

He leaned in and watched as her eyes dilated again under his influence, her body was perfectly still, but he could still hear her heart thumping with fear in her chest and her blood rushing through her veins as her body attempted in vain to take flight, not realising it wasn't an option. He tugged her through a door and into an empty classroom, smiling as he noticed the dismay in her eyes.

He curled a braid around his hand, using it to tug her head back as he contemplated her racing pulse point. Klaus felt his fangs begin to elongate, his hunger sliding to the surface. Just one little sip wouldn't hurt, would it? He curved her body against him, pinning her arms as he dipped his head and let his breath fall along her skin, raising goose bumps along her flesh - so marvellously responsive. Every muscle in her body strained against his compulsion and he watched as her throat quivered as she struggled to use her vocal chords.

"Easy, love," he said. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to have a little taste." He sank his fangs into her, latching onto her pale, soft skin. She let out a soft exhale, that might have been an attempt at a scream, but it hardly mattered as her blood flooded his mouth and slid down his throat. He lost track of time as he lapped at the wound, savouring her. She was truly delicious; he might keep her around for a while, once she'd outlasted her usefulness as a spy.

It took him a few moments to realise it was only his grip that was holding her up. Cursing under his breath, he hurriedly bit into his wrist and forced blood down her throat, massaging her neck to make sure she ingested it. Colour slowly returned to her cheeks and Klaus draped her over the teacher's desk, and waited for her to recover.

That was his first mistake. He should have left her to die and picked another one, but the next day was Founder's Day, and he didn't have time to waste. At least, that was what he'd told himself at the time.

Apparently, it wasn't only Elijah who was adept at self-delusion.

* * *

As they say, even the best plans can go awry and, the very next day, Caroline Forbes, cheerleader, human, and Prom Committee head, died face down on main street, her body flung from a vehicle as one of friend's lost control of the wheel – a few hours later, Caroline Forbes, vampire and future bane of his life, awoke on a slab in the hospital mortuary. Not that he knew that until two days later when she called the number he'd given her and hissed at him down the phone.

_"You_ bastard, _what did you do to me?"_

"I thought I'd explained that to you, love, it's called compulsion."

_"Not_ that _, I mean the part where you turned me into a_ vampire _."_

Klaus's eyes narrowed, _that_ might cause complications. It meant that his compulsion had worn off, and _that_ meant she had probably spilled the beans to her little friends. He extended his senses and picked up the tell-tale signs of another person breathing. "Who's with you, Caroline?"

" _That's none of your business_!" she said. " _Who the hell are you?"_

He smirked and promptly hung up before ripping open the back of the burner phone, and divesting it of its card and battery. So she had called him for a little fact finding mission,had she? He had little doubt that her Sheriff mother had been attempting to track the call.

"Trouble?" Greta asked, looking up from the Grimoire she's been studying intently.

"I may have to return to Mystic Falls sooner than I intended," he said.

She frowned thoughtfully. "I'm going to need a full moon to complete the transference spell, and one isn't due for another week."

"I don't think that'll be an issue," he said, getting to his feet. "I'm just going to pick at the edges of the herd."

* * *

She was _magnificent_. Vampirism suited her, made her glow and glitter with a light that had been just a dull flicker when she was human.

But if she didn't stop screaming at him, he may have to kill her.

"Let me go, you _ass_ ," She struggled against his grip as she dug into the lawn with her too high heels. Deep ploughs of dirt showed their progress as he carried on regardless.

"Do us both a favour and shut up, sweetheart, or we may have a repeat of our last meeting," he said, as and he opened the passenger door to his SUV and bundled her into the seat. She glared at up at him.

"You can't do that, anymore, remember? I'm a vampire, I can't be compelled," she said.

He smiled down at her, his eyes tracing the curve of her neck. "I'm afraid you may have been a little too hasty in that assessment, love, I'm not like any vampire you've met before." He watched the pulse in her neck quicken, and he wondered how she tasted now that she'd been turned. He felt a flare of hunger and even the sullen glow of desire spark within him and his eyes trailed up to her face again, seeing the anger and wariness war on her face. He grabbed her chin and held her gaze as he compelled her. " _Strap yourself in_."

Wordlessly, she reached for the seatbelt, and pulled it around her, clicking it into place before a look of dismayed horror dawned on her face.

"I'm an Original, do you know what that is?" Silently, she shook her head and Klaus rolled his eyes. "What do they teach young vampires these days?" he asked rhetorically. "It means I'm one of the first vampires. All vampires descend from us, and that comes a few perks, including being able to compel other vampires. Do you understand?"

She took a shaky breath and nodded. "What do you want from me?"

"What I always wanted, love, information."

"But they already know about you. It's not going to work."

"And, tell me, what do they know? My name? Why I wanted you to spy for me? No, I didn't think so. I doubt you dear mother even had time to triangulate the position of my cell phone yesterday."

She looked down at her hands, and Klaus smirked knowingly. He had guessed correctly. He leaned in. "I'm afraid it _is_ going to work, my dear Caroline, and do you know why? Because they, like you, have no _idea_ of what I'm capable of." He shut the door and rounded the SUV to get into the driver's side when, all of a sudden, the passenger door car flew across the lawn and the baby vampire blurred down the street. Klaus almost laughed at her audacity but then realised that he had to stop her before she spilled the beans. Damn it, he had been too complacent, he should have compelled her not to move.

He made a split decision and sped in the direction of the Salvatore house. Instinct told him she wouldn't head for her mother. The Sheriff was human and thus vulnerable. No, she'd head for the place most likely to have muscle – the Salvatores.

She showed great presence of mind for a newly turned vampire. Most vampires spent the first couple of weeks gorging themselves on the local populace before they figured out how to reign it in. She had also been wearing a daylight ring. That had taken her – what – three days?

Oh yes, she was a bright little thing.

Unfortunately for her, her new abilities were no match for an Original's. He made it to the Salvatore house in time to hear her tearing through the woods, unknowingly heading straight for him. With a sly grin, he sped towards her, snatching her up before she broke the treeline and slamming her against the rough bark of a tree.

"Let me go," she protested, beating her fists against his chest.

"Now, now, love, less of that." He said, rolling his eyes. In response, she stomped on his foot. He began to laugh.

Her eyes narrowed. "Whats so funny, you… you… _monster_."

His amusement withered away, and he slammed her back up against the tree, raking his hands through her hair so as to tilt her head up. " _You shall not move or talk until I say you can_ ," he said, watching with satisfaction as her eyes dilated. "That's more like it. You're very beautiful, Caroline, but you _have_ a mouth on you."

His eyes lingered on said lips, plump and glossy, and temptation slithered into his mind, but he didn't have time for those kind of games today. Instead, he tucked a new cell phone into the front pocket of her coat. "A new phone, with a new number programmed into it," he said. "Same plan as before –but _this_ time there will be no way for you to break the compulsion, no… get out clause, if you will. You're mine until I grow tired of you."

It didn't take him long to reinforce his previous instructions. They were pretty simple. Every evening, after eight and when she was alone, he would call her and tell her everything about her day that involved the Doppelganger… and this time they would never suspect her of being compelled to spy on them.

She spared him a single venomous glare before she half stumbled, half ran away from him, and satisfied with a day's work well done, he pushed his hands into his pockets and strutted away, only pausing when he remembered the SUV parked in Sheriff Forbe's driveway, now with a missing passenger door. He shrugged, it wasn't as if it were in his name, and even when she discovered the dead body in the boot, it would hardly point back to him.

He kept on walking


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever since I updated! Sorry about that, guys! A big thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, despite the typos! (I think I've caught most of them now, but I'm sure a few still slipped though.) This new chapter is darker than my usual far and features a rather pervy Klaus. I should probably say at this point that this is very much a klaroline story, despite the shenanigans of this chapter, but as this is set during season two, Kaus is a bit of a dick, and hasn't got to his pony drawing stage yet. Also, this chapter very definitely earns its M status. I hope you enjoy and dont want to kill me too much at the end of it!

 

 

It had taken Caroline less than a week to come to a startling revelation. She _loved_ being a vampire. She loved the power and the ease with which she floated through her life. She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to enjoy being a monster but it felt so… _right._

Except, of course, for the one thorn in her new existence – Klaus Mikaelson.

She had gone through every word, every nuance of his compelled instructions with a fine tooth comb. The only loophole she could find was in the fact he's omitted to compel her to forget the fact she was compelled. Maybe that was supposed to be a subtle form of punishment for her insubordinate ways, she didn't know, but it did give her the tiniest sliver of wriggle room.

She was supposed to repeat back everything she heard and she wasn't supposed to tip anyone off to the fact she was compelled... but he didn't actually compel her to actively engage in spying, which meant she was free to wander out of earshot if things got a little too interesting.

But it only worked to a certain point, especially as Stefan had appointed himself as her new, personal vampire tutor. His friendship was one of the surprises of her new vampire status. Now that he didn't have to hide what he was, he was surprisingly open. Which, all things considered, was _unbelievably bad timing_.

"We think we may have a lead on this Sun and the Moon curse," Stefan told her, leaning back against a tree trunk. "Alaric has gone with Damon and Elena to Duke University to go through Isobel's things."

Caroline quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh really?" she said lightly. "Interesting."

He gave her a quizzical look. "That's all you've got to say?"

Caroline shrugged. "What can I say? Mouldy old books and curses don't really do it for me."

"You do realise I know you have a 4.0 grade average. Playing the ditzy blonde isn't going to work with me," Stefan reminded her, with a smirk.

"Well, okay, you got me," Caroline said. "I told Matt I'd meet him at the grill." She made a show of looking at her watch.

He rolled his eyes. "Same time tomorrow, then," he said. "And be careful with Matt, okay? Remember what I said-"

"Yeah, yeah, everything is _heightened._ " She smiled at him. "As if I haven't figured that out already." She gave him a small salute and then blurred away, the smile slipping from her face as she hit the treeline. This was _not_ good.

* * *

The grill was had its usual gaggle of daytime drinkers, mixed in with the occasional weekend bruncher. Ingnoring then, Caroline made a beeline for the bar, her eyessearching for Matt - but instead she found her least favourite Salvatore brother. She choked down the impulse to snarl at him as she appraoched. She'd be lying if she said she didn't fantasise about killing him, it usually involved smashing his smarmy face in with a mallet and then ripping his heart out. Even the mere thought of it excited the monster inside her, which kind of scared her, to be honest. She felt her fangs threatening to descend and crushed her bloodlust mercilessly. Damon was Stefan's brother, she reminded herself though gritted teeth. If she tried to slaughter his brother she was pretty sure he'd take it seriously.

But images of her human self, terrified and pinned to the bed as Damon fed from her and then fucked her, still flashed through her mind as she approached him. She balled her fists, her nails digging into the palms of her hands, drawing blood.

"Have you seen Matt," she bit out.

"Your toy human is avoiding you?" he shot back, his eyes wandered over her body in a way that made her blood boil. They were in a public place she reminded herself, eviscerating him might draw attention. He smirked as if he knew what she was thinking and Caroline let out a snort.

"So sorry to have disturbed your spiral into alcoholism," she said. "By all means, carry on drinking yourself into a stupor."

"Oh, I intend to, Blondie," he muttered, his eyes sliding back to his glass. "He went out the back way about ten minutes ago."

Caroline absorbed the information with a sharp nod and strode behind the bar. She pushed open the door into the back and walked though.

"Matt?" she called out. Silence greeted her. Tentatively she tried to extend her senses. Stefan had been trying to teach her to hone her vampire abilities but Matthew wasn't a bunny rabbit and there was a lot of background chatter from the bar. A tinkle of glass caught her attention. It was coming from the storage room which actually kind of made sense. She pushed the door open and faltered in her steps as her mind tried to process the image of Matt was sitting stiffly in a chair with a gag in his mouth. His eyes darting wildly.

"My god, who did this to you?" she said, running forward. A sound of warning escaped around Matt's gag but it was too late. A fist slammed into her face, sending her flying through the air and into the door behind her. She tasted blood in her mouth as her vision swam. What the hell?

"Took your time getting here," said a strangely familiar, yet unfamiliar, voice. "Is the bunnies diet slowing you down?" Caroline's vision snapped back into focus and she did a double take. Elena? No, not Elena, _Katherine._ Caroline staggered to her feet, her eyes darting over Katherine's shoulder. Matt looked back at her, fear shining in his eyes.

"What do you want?" she bit out.

"Oh, I want a lot of things," she said. "But the real question is, what do I want from _you_?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Caroline said, as she wondered at her chances of getting both her and Matt out of there alive.

As if sensing her thoughts, the older vampire smirked at her. "I wouldn't get any ideas of heroics, if I were you," she said. "I'm older than you and, even if I weren't, than bunny diet of yours leaves you nearly as helpless as your blue eyed pet over here," she said, gesturing at Matt. "By all means, bag it if you don't have the stomach for feeding from the vein, but you really should leave the Bambi diet behind if you want to survive in this world. There's control and then there's stupidity."

"Stefan seems to doing okay," Caroline said stiffly, folding her hands.

"Stefan has over a century on you and while he may be draining furry little rodents nowadays, he spent most of his former years ripping out the throats out of his _very_ human victims," Katherine drawled. "Trust me, it was all very messy."

Caroline wasn't sure what to do with that little bit of information, so she filed it away for later examination. "Thanks for the dietary tips," she said. "Now how about you tell me what the hell you want from me?" If Katherine wanted her dead, she had no doubt her heart would already be on the floor, which meant the vampire wanted something else from her.

"Well, it's really, very simple, I need you to be my eyes and ears," she purred.

Caroline fought back the sudden urge to laugh. Was this some kind of cosmic joke - first Klaus and now Katherine?" Did she have the words _Push Over_ stamped on her forehead? "And why would I do that?" she said.

"Because, for the next few days, your pretty blue eyed boy is going to be keeping me company," Katherine said, menace bleeding though every word.

Caroline swallowed as she suddenly realised how badly screwed she was. She was supposed to phone Klaus tonight and his compulsion would force her to tell him everything. She tried to imagine the many different scenarios arising from that and none of them ended well. Wildly, she tried to come up with a plan that Matt survived. She was coming up empty.

Katherine gave her a knowing look. "Good, I see that you've figured out the best course of action is to what I say. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Where?" Caroline stammered.

"Expect my call," Katherine said, and pulled Matt to his feet. She tipped open a trap door in the floor her toe – where the hell had _that_ come from and quirked an eyebrow at her "Well, run along," she said impatiently, flicking her fingers at her. "Shoo!"

Realising she had no choice, Caroline did what she was told and backed out of the room. For a moment, she thought about going back into the bar and taking her frustrations out on Damon's face but then thought better of it. As Katherine said, her bunny diet left her with a serious disadvantage. Well, at least that _one_ thing she could rectify.

Grimly, she slammed through the door that led into the alleyway. First things first, no more bunny diet, she needed to make a stop at the hospital

* * *

_I'm sorry, sir, I lost track of him in Georgia"_

"What do you mean, you lost track of him?" Klaus snapped. "I thought you had eyes on him at all times."

_"Uh, about that, Sir, James and Jenn are dead , their hearts were ripped out."_

Klaus sighed, of course they were ripped out, the idiots had been seen by Elijah. "Stay where you are," he said "I'll have a new team of vampires meet up with you and then I'll have my witch try a new location spell." He hung up and and threw the cell phone across the room. It bounced against the wall and onto the floor. Elijah had eluded him once again and who knew what machinations he had in play.

He heard the front door open and the familiar footsteps of the witch enter the house. She was late today. He felt another spurt of irritation.

"What took you so long?" he snarled, as she entered the room.

"I had to see a new supplier," she said smoothly. "Bad day?"

He threw himself into an armchair, eyeing the witch as she slid out of her jacket. Greta was a relatively new addition to his retinue, a witch with a thirst for knowledge and power, as well as some other talents that he relished. His eyes slid up and down the youthful curves of her body. Skin tight jeans displayed her toned legs beautifully, and those lovely pert breasts of hers strained against her too tight vest top.

Klaus smirked, the witch wasn't above using her feminine wiles to get her way, and he wasn't about to disabuse her of the notion. He watched as she bent down to pick up his battered phone, giving him a lovely view of her firm ass. He licked his lips.

"Elijah is still eluding me," he said. "I will need you to perform another location spell tonight."

She nodded. "Anything else you want me to do?" she asked, as she approached him, hips swaying. He watched impassively as she placed his phone on his chair's armrest. Wonder of wonders, it was still working.

She didn't move and his eyes lingered on the curve of her breasts as he contemplated her offer. He lifted his head to take in her parted lips and smiled as he undid the first button of his jeans. He leaned back and she got the hint. She slid her knees and nimbly undid the rest of the buttons, freeing his cock.

"I've made progress with the spell," She said, as she stroked him, her thumb idly circling his head. "We should be able complete the transference spell without a hitch."

His eyes glittered as he wrapped his hands in her hair and nudged her head down. With a smouldering look in her eyes, she wrapped her mouth around his length and began to suck him off. Klaus stroked her head as he felt himself harden in her mouth

His cell phone hummed and he reached for it. He felt Greta falter at the interruption and he tightened his grip in her hair, signalling her to continue as he read the screen. Caroline was early this evening. He smirked as he answered.

"Hello, sweetheart, what can I do for you today," he purred. He felt Greta's tongue slither along his length as her head bobbed up and down

" _Katherine Pierce is in town."_ The news ran like ice through him, and Greta must have sensed the change in his demeanor because her eyes flickered up. His grip tightened in her hair and he thrust into her mouth. A flash of fear ran through her eyes before she covered it. Good, it would serve her well to remember who was truly in charge.

"Since when?" he snarled down the phone.

" _Since today! The bitch actually threatened to kill Matt if I didn't spy for her"_

Anger roared through his veins before it came to him that he could use this to his advantage. "Then spy for her," he said, as calmly as he could.

" _Excuse me?_ "

"You heard me – spy for her. Act as if you're doing everything she asked. I'll be there by morning."

" _What are you going to do?"_

Klaus laughed, closing his eyes as he thrust himself deeper down Greta's throat, the thought of Katherine's imminent demise as well as the combination of Caroline's anger and Greta's mouth were doing wonders for his mood. "Don't worry, sweetheart, your quarterback will be back to warming you bed by tomorrow night."

" _Ugh, can we not talk about my love life? You're creepy enough as it is_."

Idly, he wondered what the lithe cheerleader would be like in bed and he suddenly had a flash of the blonde on her knees, her rosy lips wrapped around his cock as she glared up at him with angry eyes. The image was enough to send him over the edge and, with a grunt, he came in the witch's mouth.

" _Oh my god, what was that?"_ said Caroline, the tone of her voice telling him she already had a good idea.

Just having my needs taken care off, love," he said, the feeling of satiation flooding through his body as he watched the witch swallow down his seed. He let go of her head, letting his spent cock slip out her mouth.

" _Ew!_ " Caroline said, and Klaus laughed as the line went dead. The baby vampire was still sublimating her needs, it seemed. Maybe he could help her with that…

"Shall I order the car to be pulled around? "Greta asked, licking her lips.

"In a moment," he purred. "Right now, I have another need to be taken care of. He smiled, showing her his lengthening fangs and, this time, the witch's swallow was dry as she reluctantly pulled her hair back from her neck. He smiled down at her, drinking her fear in, before flashing his fangs down, slicing into her throat.

She was too valuable to kill, but that didn't mean he couldn't feed from her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel that this chapter should come some major warnings! Major character death, mature content, violence and torture. You know, the usual. (Please don't kill me)

B Positive had been printed on the blood bag's label and Caroline fought back the urge to moan as she poured it down her throat. It was the nectar of the gods. She pushed back the car seat and up ended the bag over her mouth, letting the last dregs fall onto her tongue.

There was no way in hell she was going back onto the bunny diet.

A sharp rap on the passenger door window broke her out of her blissful blood fuelled haze and she jerked upright as the door opened. Klaus Mikaelson slid into the seat beside her.

"You've got blood around your mouth, love, perhaps you should lick it off?"

Hastily, she reached for the rear view mirror to examine her reflection, and then glared at him when she realised he'd been yanking her chain. "A pleasure, as always," she bit out, and he just smiled in response.

"Care to share?" he asked, glancing back at the cooler on the back seat.

"I thought you only dined on the blood of the innocent," she sniped.

"The blood of the virtuous, actually, and I think a donor blood would qualify quite nicely," he said, reaching back. She watched as he rifled through the bags and pulled out a bag of O Negative. "Glad to see you've decided to drop the bunny diet. It's not very healthy. Vampires tend to acquire an unpleasant smell if they stay on it too long."

 _Ew,_ that wasn't true, was it? She watched as he tore the bag open with his fangs, his eyes darkening as he drank. Caroline fidgeted with the phone in her hands, using it as an excuse to look away as she checked her texts. There was something strangely intimate about watching another vampire feed, and it brought up unbidden and unwelcome thoughts. Like the memory of the sound he made on the phone - what kind of asshole answers a phone while getting a blow job, anyway? It was gross and disturbing…and it kind of her turned on.

Caroline bit her lip. Was she turning into some kind of a pervert? For all of Stefan's talk about heightened senses and emotions, they really never touched on the vampire sex talk. Too awkward, she supposed. She felt him shift in his chair beside her and looked up. He was grinning at her as he licked his lips. It was if he knew what she was thinking.

"Someone not taking care of your needs, love?" he asked, teasingly, and Caroline was pretty sure that her face would be aflame if she were still human.

"Can you try and not act like a sex fiend for five seconds?" she snapped, embarrassed.

"I can't help what my senses pick up, Caroline" he said. "Elevated heartbeat, female arousal-"

"Oh my god, can you just stop!" she squeaked. "I have a boyfriend." She cringed inwardly even as the words left her mouth. Somehow, she doubted Klaus was the kind of guy who was deterred by the presense of a highschool boyfriend.

"That's not what I asked," he said, confirming her worst suspicions. "And I fail to see how he could be satisfying you. I know how demanding we can be." He paused, a dark smile spreading across his face. "Unless you like to feed from him in bed?"

A flash of Damon on top of her ran through her mind and shook her head violently. "Don't be disgusting."

He tilted his head, examining her reaction. "Oh, come now, love, are you really telling me that you haven't once thought of sinking your fangs into him as you bedded him?"

Caroline didn't want to admit that she and Matt hadn't made it as far as the bedroom since she'd been turned. She liked to think that it was just a coincidence, but even without saying it aloud, she knew she was lying to herself. She looked away. What would sex with Matt be like now? Would she be able to control herself? He was right, her libido had been off the charts since she's been turned, and getting herself off in the shower barely took the edge of it.

She imagined Matt underneath her, the feel of him between her thighs as she rode him. She imagined his body flushing as he arched up into her - and then her sinking her teeth into his neck

Oh god, no, even the thought of it felt way too good.

Klaus gave her a knowing look. "I can take care of that itch, love," he said, and Caroline wrinkled her nose.

"Ugh, can you not?" she said, with a toss of her head. "Aren't you supposed to be lurking somewhere? Lying in wait as I lure out the great Petrova Doppelganger into your dastardly trap?" She let a hint of mockery flavour her voice and he bristled almost instantaneously. She wasn't the only one with buttons to push.

"Whch classroom are you supposed to meet her in?" he asked.

"Chem lab," she said.

"Well, then, I sugggest we get a move on," he bit out, before getting out of the car. Sighing, she followed him. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The school was eerily quiet but that was only to be expected on a Sunday morning. She perched on a stool and glared at the time on her phone. Katherine was late.

The door slammed open and Caroline stopped herself from jumping as it banged against the wall. She glared at the figure in the doorway as he leaned against the doorjamb – Damon Salvatore.

"Hey, Barbie," he said. "Fancy meeting you here – looking for Ken?

Caroline's eyes narrowed "What are you doing here, Damon ? Have you been following me?"

Damon smirked as he pushed away from the doorway and strutted into the room, casually, circling the lab tables as stalked towards her "Did you really think I didn't hear that conversation between you and Katherine at the bar yesterday?" he asked. "I've been following her all day."

Caroline perked up. "Did you see where she stashed Matt?" she asked.

"Nope," he pronounced, with a pop. A gleam shone in his eyes, one she was familiar with. The _asshole_ still thought he could treat her like prey. His arm shot out in a blur, but Caroline was already ducking, recognising the choke manoeuvre he was fond of using. Damon was older and faster, but he had spent too much time of late perfecting his bar fly status, and Caroline still took gymnastics twice a week. She was under his arm and behind him before he'd realised he'd lost the upper hand. She snapped his neck before he turned around, and felt a spurt of satisfaction as fell to the floor in a boneless heap.

A slow clap filled the room. "Impressive," Katherine purred, as she sauntered into the room, "Although you may have some explaining to do when he awakes."

"I'll deal with that when it happens," she said, tossing her hair back. "Where's Matt?"

"You didn't expect me to bring him along with me, did you?" Katherine said, as she sat on a stool and flicked an imaginary fleck of dirt off her jeans. "Do I look like a fool? Now _spill_."

Caroline crossed her arms. "Proof of life first," she said.

Rolling her eyes, Katherine pull out her cellphone and dialled a number. "George, put us on video conferencing, there's a dear." She smiled as her screen lit up and twisted her hand so Caroline could see. It was Matt, looking a little banged up, and bound and gagged, but still very much alive. She scowled as Katherine ended the call.

"Don't get any ideas," she warned Caroline. "If I'm not back in an hour my hunky little minion has orders to kill Matty boy, blue eyes or no - now, I've given you my update, it's time for yours."

Caroline lifted her chin, trying to look confident even as her mind searched for some titbit to keep her occupied. Where the _hell_ was Klaus? So much for their _plan._ "Alaric is back from his trip to Duke with Elena and Damon, they found out about the Sun and the Moon curse."

A flicker of amusement ran through Katherine's eyes. "You don't' say," she said. "And?"

"And what?" Caroline huffed.

"You don't actually believe I didn't already know about the precious curse, did you? I'm going to need something more."

From the corner of her eye, Caroline sensed movement at the door, and she smiled slowly as an evil idea flickered through her mind. "I heard there was an Original in town," she said.

Katherine stiffened, and Caroline caught a flash of what she suspected was the only genuine emotion she'd ever seen on her face – sheer terror. "Which one," she said flatly.

There was more than one?

The uncertainty must have showed in her eyes because Katherine suddenly sneered. "A lie," she said.

"Actually, Katerina, something much worse – a truth," said Klaus, from behind her, as he slammed her head forward and off the counter. She slid to the floor.

"Don't hurt her – we need her to get back Matt!" Caroline said

He rolled his eyes as he crouched down and pinned her to the floor with a well-placed knee. "She's not the one that you have to worry about, love," he said as a moan from behind her caught her attention.

"What are you waiting for, kill him," Klaus said, as he felt for Katherine's pulse. "We need to get to your pet human before Katherine's timer runs out, remember?" Caroline's head swivelled back to Damon, whose head lolled weakly as he struggled to regain consciousness.

She curled her hand into a ball as she looked down at him. "I can't," she said softly. "He's Stefan's brother.

Klaus looked at her. "I can't help but notice that you didn't say it was wrong think to do, though."

Caroline ignored the comment. "Can't we just lock him up until we're finished. Your Doppelganger cage has room for two, doesn't it?" Her eyes brightened. "Or you could compel him to forget - problem solved!"

Klaus quirked an eyebrow and then smirked at her and Caroline glared back. "What? It's a perfectly good plan-" Pain shot down her spine as Damon barrelled into her from behind. The asshole had known Damon was going to attack her and let it happen. Her head slammed into the counter, an echo of Klaus's attack on Katherine, but Caroline managed to stay conscious, twisting out of the way just in time as Damon's fist came slamming down.

The look of rage in his face made her blood freeze. "I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance," he snarled in her face, his fangs descending as he shoved her into the wall. The air left her lungs in a painful gasp, and he smiled coldly. "You were always a useless waste of space," he said. "I don't know why Elena puts up with you, not that its ever going to be a problem when I rip your-"

His eyes widened as his expression changed to one of bewildered disbelief. Blood trickled down caroline's wrist as her fingers squeezed his pumping heart. Their eyes met as the valve shuddered in her grip.

"Didn't think you had it in you," he rasped out. "Welcome to the club, killer."

Caroline snarled as she ripped his heart from his chest, and pushed his greying body off her. She staggered upright, throwing the dead organ away before smoothing down her skirt. Blood streaked along the delicate fabric. Proof of victory.

She looked across the school room, at Katherine's flabbergasted expression and Klaus's impassive face. There was a look his eyes she had never seen before, as if he was doing a sudden recalculation. A slow smile spread across his face as he reached down to snap Katherine's neck again.

"Bring the car around, love, we have business to conclude."

* * *

He took Katherine's keys, phone, and bag away, before stuffing Katherine into the trunk with Damon's remains, ignoring the Doppelganger's protests. It took him less than ten minutes to have a guy track her last phonecall. A house with a for sale sign on it, just outside of town. The parked down the road and walked the rest of the way. Klaus held a finger to his lips before he unlocked the door.

For a moment, she wondered why he was bothering to help her, saving Matt didn't exactly further his agenda, but she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. They slipped inside the house and he took the door on the right as she took the one of the left. It was she who found Matt, trussed up on the couch.

"God, Matt," she said, letting out a sob of relief as she ran into the room. She ripped off his bonds and took the gag from his mouth. "Are you all right?"

"Caroline, behind you," he gasped out, and Caroline spun, catching midstep a beefy looking human with a glock in his hand. George, she presumed. He blinked, and then hastily raised his gun.

"Don't move, or I'll blow a hole in you," he said.

She didn't even hesitate, she sped forward and wrenched the gun from his hands, crushing his fingers. He let out a yelp of pain.

"Don't hurt me," he said, whimpering, but it was kind of too late for that. He was snatched from her grasp and Klaus had him in a vice as he ripped into his throat. Arterial blood bubbled against his lips as he drank and Caroline watched, her mouth going dry, as George's life seeped from his eyes. Caroline remembered the sensation of taking a life as she fed. She tried not to dwell on how good it had felt. Thoughts like that were what brought out the monster in her.

Caroline turned to look at Matt, expecting him to be looking at Klaus, but he wasn't – he was looking at _her_. Belatedly, she realised her fangs had extended as she'd watched Klaus feed, and something told her that her eyes were no longer human either.

"Matt," she said, holding up a hand. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt-"

He ran and instinct made Caroline's feet move. She caught him with ease and he smelled like prey, he smelled like _food_. She took a deep breath, centering herself as Stefan had taught her. Matt stood frozen in her grasp, as if he understood on some primal level that if he moved, he was dead.

She looked him dead in the eye and watched as his pupils dilated. " _You're not going to remember anything that happened here,"_ she said. " _You're not going to remember Katherine or Klaus or the way my face changed. You went home early yesterday with a migraine and went to bed, and when you awoke today, you decided to take a walk and get some air – do you understand?_ "

He looked at her blankly before nodding, and she slowly uncurled her fingers from her arm. He was probably going to have bruises there but hopefully he'll just brush it off and, if not, she supposed she could just compel him again.

Her chest constricted painfully as a part of her let him go. If he stayed with her, she'd only get him killed...or kill him herself.

Time for clean up, love," Klaus said, as he dragged George's corpse towards the door. "You know the area. Where would be a good place for a body dump?

* * *

She watched from her perch on a tree stump as Klaus first threw Damon's body and then George's into the hole. They looked as if they'd been positioned in some macabre lover's embrace. Picking up a shovel, Klaus began to fill in the hole.

"Any ideas as to what your story should be?" he asked, almost conversationally, as a shovel full of dirt covered Damon's face."

"My cover story?" she echoed hollowly.

His eyes flicked up, taking her in. "You should be able to get your boyfriend to say you were with him this morning. He lives alone, right?"

Caroline nodded silently, not knowing what else to say.

"Good," Klaus said. "It'll probably take Stefan a few hours to realise Damon is missing."

"What about his phone?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I've already divested it of its battery and sim card." He patted down the grave before kicking a pile of leaves over the newly turned earth. Leaning the shovel against a tree, he examined her. Caroline felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Was he going to kill her now? No, if he was ging to kill her, he would have done it before he filled in the hole. She stood unsurely as he approached her.

"Call me at the usual hour tonight," he said.

"Aren't you going to compel me not to say anything about today?" she asked.

"Something tells me I don't need to," he said, as he pulled a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She shivered at the contact and he smiled as his hand stroked her throat. "You really are quite lovely," he said, half to himself.

She felt his other hand, warm against her chilled skin, slip under her skirt and she froze. A small part of her mind told her that she should be stopping him, that she should be saying no, but another part of her cried out for release, a way to let go.

He walked her backwards, until they hit a tree, and his lips pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. She felt his fingers hook into her panties and rip them off and shivered as his fingers, touched her, stroking her clit. She closed her eyes as she felt herself grow wet.

"Turn around and spread them for me," he whispered into her ear, and she obediently turned around, resting her cheek against the bark of the tree as she spread her legs. The distinctive sound of a zip opening flled they air and, a moment later, he was pressed against her, the length of his cock rubbing up against her behind. She shuddered as he suddenly pushed into her, his breath hot on the nape of her neck as he sandwiched her tightly against the tree and dug at her hips. She felt the bark of the tree give under the pressure of her fingers as he stretched and filled her. It had been way too long and it felt so _good_. It was as if every nerve ending in her body had come alive, clamouring for attention.

Without warning, he slammed into her with a speed and agility that was definitely not human. In and out, in and out, he filled her with every stroke. She felt his fangs scrape against her neck and she tensed in anticipation. He didn't disappoint, his fangs breaking through her skin with pinpoint precision. Caroline shuddered as an unexpected burst of pleasure swam through her veins - _bloodsharing_.

After that, it became a haze of rutting and instinct, and pleasure that bordered on pain, as all the horrors of the day fell away, leaving only the feel of his cock and fangs. She felt herself grow lightheaded from blood loss and, as if sensing it, he pried himself from her neck. To her surprise, no filthy words, no dark imaginings spilled from his mouth, he was as silent as the grave as he thrust up into her. The only sound in that echoed through the woods was the sound of his hips slapping against her ass. Numbling pleasure began to white out her other senses and she quaked around him, biting back a scream as she came. If he wasn't going to make a noise, then neither was she.

She felt him strain against her, balls deep, as he finished inside her. His seed escaped in a trickle down her inner thighs as he pulled out. Caroline clung to the tree as she found her legs beneath her, stiffening as she felt his mouth brush against the shell of her ear.

"Next time we'll use a bed," he said. She felt him tug her skirt down

"There isn't going to be a next time," she said stuffly.

"We both know that's a lie, love, you liked it too much." She spun on her heels, a snarling denial on her lips, but he was already gone. The bastard really liked getting in the last word. She took a shuddering breath as reality sank in. She was alone in the forest, a few feet from where they'd buried Damon and George, and Klaus's scent and seed clung to her skin like a brand. They had killed and then they had fucked practically on top of their grave. What had she _done_.

She tried to pin down her feelings. Did she feel remorse? No, some regret but no remorse. Damon had attacked her, he was older and stronger, it was kill or be killed, and as for George... She remembered the feeling of envy she'd felt as she watched Klaus feed.

Oh god, she was a terrible person

Slowly, she staggered through the woods, her mind reeling with unknown thoughts and urges. What would she do now? A cold, calculating part of her mind told her exactly what to do. Compel Matt to back up her alibi and keep her mouth shut. Stefan would kill her if he knew the truth and Bonnie would probably help.

Whether she liked it or not, Klaus was her only chance of surviving the next few weeks.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all your lovely and varied reviews! I loved every single one of them, even the ones that that said they weren't sure about the direction of the story! I hope you enjoy the next chapter even if you're beginning to harbour the suspicion I may have lost the run of myself ;-P

Greta was waiting for him in the foyer. His new home in Mystic Falls was was still under construction, but the main part of the house had been completed ahead of schedule.

"Any word on Elijah?" he asked.

Greta nodded. "He's been spotted in Savannah," she said, and then hesitated slightly before adding: "Rose and Trevor have also been spotted in the vicinity."

Klaus quirked an eyebrow at that. "Let me guess, they are trying to appeal for clemency – again."

"It seems they think they might have something Elijah values," Greta demurred.

"And we all know that Elijah doesn't renege on a bargain," Klaus said, sarcasm flooding his voice. "Where's Maddox?"

"He's with the Pierce woman."

Klaus smiled, pleased with himself, as he descended into the cellar. Maddox stood as he entered the cell and Klaus waved at him to sit down again. Chained to wall was Katherine Pierce, her hair falling in greasy locks, her arms rusty from her own blood. Maddox had taken his time bleeding her dry of vervein and the first signs of desiccation were already marring her skin.

"All hail the conquering villain," she said, with a sneer.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Katerina, charming as always," he said, as he picked up a blade from the table beside him. It was already coated in her blood and she eyed the instrument warily.

"There's no more vervein in my system," she said.

He gave her a knowing smile. "That may be true but I must admit I like the feel of the blade in my hand. It almost me feel nostalgic for the good old days." He leaned in, dragging the blade against her cheek and caught her gaze as her eyes widened in fear.

" _Where is the moonstone?_ " he asked tightly, as his compulsion took hold of her.

"I don't know where it is," she said, through gritted teeth.

He smiled. " _But you have a plan to find it, don't you?_ "

Stiffly, she nodded her head, and Klaus felt a moment of satisfaction. "G _ood girl, why don't you tell me all about it._ "

* * *

It was a mess. Her entire life was a mess.

The Church picnic had been one disaster after another. Firstly, there had been Stefan, who was completely convinced Mason was the reason Damon was missing, and then there was the vervein in the lemonade that Stefan drank, ... but it was the look on her Mother's face after she attacked her deputies that stung the most.

She wrung her hands as she waited for Stefan to finish making her Mom comfortable in the cellar. Elena was eyeing her warily as if she were a bomb that would go off and it was all she could do not to snap at her

Well, okay, maybe she was feeling that little bit bitchier than usual, but she had just overheard her mother tell Stefan that she wasn't her daughter anymore. She guessed she should have seen that coming, it was pretty much Bonnie's reaction to her as well, but still... it hurt.

"Her phone buzzed and Caroline looked down to see Matt's name in the screen. Matt, the sweetest boyfriend a girl could ask for. She sighed, she knew she had to give him the talk, but even the thought of it settled a brick in the pit of her stomach.

"Matt, again?" Elena asked, and Caroline nodded.

"It's not working," she admitted aloud, and funnily enough she felt better for saying it. "How did you and Stefan make it work?"

Elena let out a soft laugh. "What do you mean?"

"You know, the whole vampire and human...thing."

"Ah yes, the _thing._ " A smirk lit up Elena's face.

Caroline have her knee a half hearted slap."You're no use," she said.

Elena laughed. "I don't know," she said. "We just took things as they came - let it happen organically."

Caroline gave her a wry look. "I don't think that advice would work very well with me," she said. She let the rest of that sentence left unsaid. She didn't think Elena wanted to know about her blood thirst impulses and, from the expression on Elena's face, she had already figured out too much.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" she asked, changing the subject.

Caroline hesitated; on the one hand, the thought of leaving her Mom by herself in the Salvatore cellar didn't sit well with her, but on the other hand, she had a phone call to make, and Klaus's compulsion to not let anyone overhear their conversations laid heavily on her mind.

"No, I better get home just in case someone from the Sheriffs office calls around with soup for Mom or something," she said. "I need to be there to head them off at the pass."

Elena gave her a small smile as she stood. "Stay safe."

"I feel like I should be saying that to you," Caroline said. "Say goodbye to Stefan for me." She hurried for the door, heaving a huge sigh of relief when she made it outside. Between her mother rejecting her and Stefan's gnawing worry about Damon, she felt like she was suffocating. How long could she keep this up?

* * *

"The phone call had been brief and to the point. He'd asked her to come to his new house so that they could discuss what his next move.

Caroline eyed the new monstrosity ahead of her as she drove up driveway. This was not a house, this was a statement of intent. The home of someone who was very sure of his place in life – right on top. Taking a deep breath, she opened the car door. She was just going to get in, get her instructions, and then escape as quickly as she could.

A woman answered the door. She looked only a little older than Caroline but she knew appearances could be deceptive. She didn't smell like a vampire, though. She was black and pretty, and leaned against the door as if she owned it. Caroline bit back a sigh. She had been around enough bitchy cheerleaders to recognise an opening salvo when she saw one.

"He's already fed, come back tomorrow," she said dismissively, as she made to close the door. Caroline jammed it with her foot.

"Try again, Klaus is expecting me," she said.

"Oh, sweetie, that's what they all say."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" She gave the door a shove, sending the woman staggering back. She may have to follow Klaus's instructions but there was no way in hell she was going to let his lackey's push her around. She took a step into the hallway, nobody human owned the house, or at least nobody alive. She headed for the first open door but was suddenly brought to her knees by an excruciating burst of pain in her head. It seemed the bitch was a witch.

The witch sneered at her "If you think I'm going to let a blood sucker get by me, you've got another thing coming." The wall of pain redoubled and Caroline fell to her knees. She knew she should try to get up, she was in enemy territory and a show of weakness would only be exploited, but the pain was too overwhelming.

"Greta, that's not a nice way to greet my guest." It was Klaus's voice, but she couldn't manage to open her eyes.

"She didn't wait to be properly invited in."

"She was already properly invited in, by _me._ " Even out of her mind with pain, Caroline recognised _that_ tone. It was a threat.

The pain eased and Caroline risked looking up. Greta was already making her way upstairs, and Klaus was looking down at her in that way he usually did. As if he were measuring her for something – most likely a coffin. He made a show of doing the gentlemanly thing and extended his hand but Caroline ignored it as she stood. Klaus's smile widened.

"I'm having dinner, why don't you join me?" It was a order not a request and she reluctantly followed him.

There was a woman laid out on the diningroom table. Her eyes had that flat cast that the deeply compelled had and wound on her neck was seeping. Caroline stilled as she picked up the scent of, B Positive. Klaus's smile grew sly as he pulled out a chair.

"Please, do sit down, I got you your favourite." Oh God, no, this was like her worst nightmare and her most vivid daydream all rolled up into one.

"No thank you, I'll stand," she said. A moment passed, and then another, and then, with a snort of scorn she sat down. She tried not to notice the shallow little gasps coming from the woman's throat or the almost intoxicating scent of fresh B Positive and concentrated on Klaus instead. He was took a seat across from her.

"I think I should be your date, tomorrow, when you go to the Lockwood fête," he said.

"I have a boyfriend," she said automatically.

He laughed. "if you say so," he said. "But I also happen to know he has a work shift tomorrow, something about making up the hours he missed due to that terrible migraine he had."

Caroline glared at him. "How did you know that?" she asked.

"Well, I asked, of course," he said. "The grill serves some excellent fries, don't they?" His fangs dropped as he lifted the woman's wrist to his mouth and Caroline looked away again as he bit down. Between the blood scent and the memory of his fangs in her throat, she was finding it difficult to maintain control – which was why he was doing it, of course. He was trying to keep her off balance. Was everything a game with him?

She heard the hand drop back onto the table and risked looking back at him. He was dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "She really is quite delicious, you should try some," he said.

"I already ate," she bit out.

He shrugged."Just trying to be a good host, love, attending to your needs. Speaking of which - perhaps you should stay the night. We could carpool in the morning." His eyes flickered down to her breasts and you'd have to be blind not to realise what we was suggesting.

Caroline felt her cheeks flame "We're not not friends, we're _not_ lovers," she said sharply. "I'm here because your compulsion forces me to be here not because I want to be."

The smile slowly slipped from his face. "Well then, I'll pick you up at ten. Be ready," he said. "You know your way out."

Caroline fought the urge to bolt as she stood. "I thought we were going to discuss what we were doing tomorrow?" she said.

"But, as you've already so succinctly pointed out, there is no we," he drawled. "Greta and I shall take care of the details, you can just wear something... pretty."

And just like that, she was in the cold. She should be relieved but all she felt was terrified. If she was going to be a pawn, she wanted to be a well informed pawn. She left the room with her chin held high and made a beeline for the front door. She bit back groan when she opened the door and saw Greta leaning against her car. This was just what she needed - round two.

"He's going to kill you once he has no more use for you. You know that," she said.

"You're in my way," Caroline said sharply.

She smiled humourlessly. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she said, as she straightened, and Caroline silently unlocked the car and got in. Starting the engine, she eyed the witch in the rear view window as she drove away.

That Klaus was going to kill her was a given, people like him never saw anything of real value in people like her, but something told her that wasn't her immediate concern. She knew a woman scorned when she saw one, and there had been real anger in Greta's eyes. Whether it was a power or a sex thing, Caroline didn't know and, more importantly, didn't _want_ to know, but she couldn't quite get rid of the suspicion Klaus might not get the chance to kill her because Greta would get there first.

Once she knew she was out of earshot, She pulled off the road and reached behind for the cooler. She didn't even bother to read the label before she ripped open the blood bag and began to gulp it down. It had taken almost all her willpower not to dive into that woman on the table, especially as she'd still been recovering from Greta's attack. Caroline paused, had that been planned? Had Klaus arranged for Greta to attack her in order to heighten her need to feed?

It was possible.

It was then that Caroline knew with absolute certainty that one thing needed to happen in the next few days. She needed to kill Greta.

* * *

Caroline was waiting on the kerb when Klaus pulled onto her street. She looked very fetching in an extremely short white silk dress and matching jacket and her hair done in glossy curls. She had put a lot of care and attention into her appearance today, a form of battle armour. He smiled as he gestured at Maddox to let her into the back seat.

He noted the wariness on her face as she got into the SUV with satisfaction. He had been giving the little wayward vampire a little too much lead, time to reel her back in. This was merely the first lesson.

"Strap yourself in," Greta said, from her position in the passenger seat and Klaus noted with amusement the recalcitrant look on her face when she did so. The vampire was young but not stupid, she knew she'd been effectively relegated. He was curious to see what she'd do about it.

The Lockwood mansion was already abuzz when they arrived, and he turned to Greta. "You know what to do." She smirked before throwing a look back to Maddox and he waited until they both vacated the car, then turned to Caroline.

"First things first, you're going to locate Carol Lockwood's vervein stash and replace it with this. He held up a bottle of clear liquid. "The scent is close enough to pass," He explained, handing her the bottle. He held back a laugh as she unscrewed and sniffed it, as if not willing to take his word for it.

"That's it?" she asked eventually, as she rescrewed the bottle.

"Of course not, love," he said. "You're about to introduce me as your friend Nik, the new guy in town that you're charitably showing the ropes to."

Caroline snorted. "Stefan and Bonnie are going to know you're a vampire," she said.

"Ah, I don't think so, there are a few advantages to having a few witches on my payroll."

"Witches - plural?" Caroline asked abruptly

"You didn't think I'd invited Maddox along for his good looks and charm, did you?" He asked, as he opened the door. Reluctantly, Caroline followed suit and jumped out.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, noting the way she shifted under his touch. The baby vampire was far from immune to his touch, no matter what she said. Baby vamps and their urges, he could use that to his advantage.

"Why are we really here?" she asked reluctantly.

"We're here to pick up a few witchy ingredients to help break a curse," he said.

"What – a couple of eggs and a dash of oregano?"

"Something like that," Klaus said, as he spotted Greta and Maddox strolling along the far end of the lawn. Greta caught her eye and nodded. They had located the werewolf.

"Oh God," Caroline muttered under her breath, and Klaus's eyes followed her gaze. It was the Doppelganger – and didn't _she_ look in a tizzy.

"Caroline," she said, her eyes flicking in his direction suspiciously.

"Elena, this is Nik, he's new in town - he's building that house on the other side of Wickory Bridge," Caroline said.

"A pleasure," Klaus said, and held his hand out. She reluctantly shook it.

"Damon is still AWOL," Elena said worriedly. "And I can't find Stefan. Did he say anything to you this morning?"

"Nothing much," Caroline said. "He was kind of in bunny hunting mode - sorry."

"Right, well let me know if you see him," she said, shooting Klaus another suspicious look.

"Your friends are not very friendly, love," he said, as she walked away.

"Well, maybe if you didn't drape your arm around my waist as if you were marking territory, they'd be a lot less suspicious," she said, as she waved at a woman that Klaus recognised as the Mayor. Greta came back into view and raised her hand. They had successfully captured the werewolf.

"Come along, love," he said, as he guided her to the back of the house.

"Why are we in such a hurry?" she muttered.

He ignored her question as they reached their destination – a white van. Greta smiled as they approached, and he scented the smell of werewolf emanating from the van.

"Were there any hitches?" he asked.

"I think that witch friend of theirs knew what I was, but I didn't let her make contact," she said

He felt Caroline stiffen by her side. "You didn't hurt Bonnie, did you?" she asked and Klaus made a silent note. She cared for the witch.

Greta rolled her eyes. "Relax, I have enough on my plate without taking on a Bennet witch," she said.

Smirking, Klaus pulled out his keys and handed them to Caroline. "I'll want you to drive the SUV back to my place when you're finished, love," he said. "Don't forget about the vervein water."

"Wait – that's it? Why did you even have to come?" she asked. "You could have just sent the witches."

"Let's just say I like to get the lay of the land," he said. "See you in a while, Caroline."

He hopped into the driver's seat in the van and looked behind him. The werewolf was trussed, up, his eyes bulging as he glared at him. Maddox had propped himself by the rear doors. Greta hopped into the passenger seat and gave him a blinding smile of pride.

He caught the figure of Caroline in the rear view mirror as he drove away. She was proving more difficult to rein in that he originally suspected but there was something about her stayed his hand when he thought of disposing of her. Perhaps there was something of her stubborn nature that reminded him of herself. With the right kind of direction and moulding, she would make a fascinating addition to his retinue.

A hand slid onto his lap, and he shifted in his seat, allowing Greta access to his crotch. He had to admit, he was more inclined to take Caroline to his bed at the moment. He found her glares and reluctant arousal amusing, but Greta had a talent between the sheets that he found diverting.

Perhaps later.

Perhaps he would make Caroline watch.

* * *

The white van was already parked in front of Mansion when Caroline pulled up and she warily looked at the front door, which stood half ajar. She stepped into the foyer and looked up as she heard footsteps. Greta was descending the stairs, wrapped in a bathrobe and towelling her hair.

"Took you long enough," she said. "Don't tell me you stayed around long enough to clean up."

"If I didn't, it'd have looked suspicious," Caroline said. "I'm on the committee."

"The committee?" Greta laughed as she leaned against the bannister. What are you – sixteen, seventeen." Caroline folded her arms but said nothing, and Greta shrugged. "It's of no matter," she said. "It's just that usually he prefers his vamps a bit older. The town mayor would make a good candidate...although I suppose you were a bit of an accident, weren't you? After all, you only offer one thing of value to him – your friendship with the Doppelganger."

Caroline frowned. She knew what the word meant, she did drama at school, but something told that wasn't what Greta meant – and then it occurred to her. She was referring to _Elena._ Caroline bit back a curse, all this time she thought this was just vampire drama but no, it was all about Elena.

Well, nothing new there.

Greta stared at her. "You didn't know, did you?" she said. "You thought this was just about the Salvatores and Katherine and that idiotic werewolf." she smiled slowly. "And now that you know, you don't want play anymore. Klaus might not take that too well. I guess he'll be in the market for a new tattle tale. Perhaps he could make use of that witch friend of yours-"

Caroline blurred forward. It was safe to say Greta never saw her coming. For all her talk about Caroline being a blood sucker, Greta still just thought of her as a cheerleader. The witch's neck gave a satisfying snap as she broke it and her body tumbled down the stairs.

The door to the cellar opened, and Klaus stepped into the foyer, his eyes taking in Greta's body before looking up at her.

"She fell down the stairs," Caroline said. It was a blatant lie and they both knew it.

"She was a clever witch," Klaus mused aloud.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing you have a spare," Caroline said, tossing her head at Maddox.

A calculating look, one that Caroline was growing familiar with, shone in his eyes. "Yes, I suppose it is," he demurred as he climbed the steps. "But, Caroline, I would be very, very upset if he too met with an unhappy accident." Caroline held her ground as he came to halt beside her and leaned in. This was it. He was going to kill her.

"I can smell her on you," he said, and he took her hand. Caroline stared down at it as he gave it a tug and she belatedly realised he was leading her up the rest of the stairs. "Come and get me when the wolf is able to talk again," he called down to Maddox. "And get rid of the body."

His bedroom was was almost sombre. Dark wood and dark neutral colours, the only splash of real colour came from the painting on the walls.

"I'm in need of a distraction," he said, almost casually, as he undid his shirt. He had a lithe frame, toned but not too much muscle. Caroline bit her lip.

She knew what he wanted, she knew he wouldn't force the issue, but she was either part of his retinue or not and she knew which option she had to take if she was going to survive this.

She shrugged off her jacket before reaching for the zip in the back of the dress. It dropped to the floor in a whisper of silk and she stepped out of it. He held out his hand again and Caroline took it, allowing herself to be led to the bed. Slowly, he reached behind her and unclasped her bra, his eyes wandering lazily over her body as he slid the straps down her arms. The moment stretched out uncomfortably.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," she said, shifting under his gaze.

"We're immortal, it's debatable," Klaus demurred as he palmed her breasts and squeezed. He nudged her backwards and she fell back onto the bed. Propping herself up on her elbows, she watched as he undid his jeans and his erection bobbed free.

"Open wide," he said softly, and Caroline felt a thrill of excitement as she obeyed, letting him slip between her thighs as he lowered his head.

She'd be liar if she said his mouth didn't feel totally delicious. His eyes caught hers, cold and crafty, as he slid his tongue between her folds, and Caroline knew she shouldn't find it such a turn on, but the feel of his tongue curling inside her just pushed her further towards the edge.

She felt the fabric of the bedspread tear in her grip as she resisted the urge to slip her fingers through his hair and hold him in place, but she couldn't help the tilt of her hips as his hands cupped her behind and held her closer to his mouth.

A scrape of teeth sent her plummeting over the edge, and the orgasm wrenched her body. She tried not to think about how much he was probably revelling in the fact she enjoyed this so much. It was just sex, she told herself, as his head lifted, his lips glistening with her juices. The bed shifted as he crawled on top of her and slotted between her legs, almost as if he belonged there.

The bastard.

She let out a soft exhale as he sank into her, his arms caging her underneath him. He stared at her, his eyes no doubt categorising every sigh that escaped her lips, every involuntary twitch of her hips. This was not like the the last time. This time he was methodical and slow, but he was still not being gentle. Fucking her in a bed, fucking her against a tree, there was no difference, this was still about ownership.

He shifted incrementally, changing the angle, and Caroline felt her toes curl involuntarily as a sharp jolt of pleasure melted her core. His fangs lengthened and she felt her own fangs slide out in response. He smiled down at her before suddenly pulling her into the air and the room swivelled as she found herself on his lap, his cock still deep in side her.

"I'm going to take a wild guess, Caroline, and say you've never fed from a vampire." he said, his eyes darkening with blood. She shook her head as she realised he was waiting for her to answer. "The carotid artery is the best, we'll last longer if we feed together."

Together? Did that mean what she thought it meant? The veins around his eyes throbbed as his eyes fell to the curve of her throat and Caroline realised that this was really going to happen.

Her mouth watered as she leaned forward and mouthed his throat, feeling the thrum of his blood flowing underneath. For a brief moment, she wondered if she'd be quick enough to rip out his throat before he could stop her but then she felt the scratch of his stubble ghosting across her skin. Too late.

Closing her eyes, she sank her teeth into him, her mouth filling with his blood, and then she pretty much lost track of everything except how much she wanted him. He moved slowly but it didn't matter, the orgasm unfurled deep inside her, making her shiver as it ebbed and flowed with every pull of his heart. His blood was everything and everywhere and she wished, with everything she was, that this moment wouldn't end.

But it did.

Slowly, he pulled away from her, and Caroline slowly became aware of her surroundings as her fangs slid out of his flesh – the darkening windows, the sheen of sweat that covered their bodies, the slick feel of his seed where their bodies were conjoined. At some point he had come inside her but she hadn't even felt it, so immersed she was in her own pleasure.

She felt his finger lift her chin and the weight of his frozen eyes. Her blood was smeared around his mouth, and she was sure she looked no better. He knew her now.

"We're going to need to move our time table forward," he said, and it took her a few moments to note the use of the word we. She fought not to stiffen his lap as his hand lazily trailed along her spine.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"I need to ingratiate yourself with the Stefan, become his best friend so that he'll tell you all his woes," he said, as if it were the most natural things in the world. Lying to her friends, stealing from them, it was becoming her daily routine.

Caroline didn't resist as he leaned in for an open mouthed kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

Caroline sat on her porch, listening to her mother move around in the kitchen, as she tried to find the courage to step inside. It had been two days since she'd had to compel her mother to forget everything she's seen in the old Lockwood cellar. The toughest part was her mother begging her not to do it, but it needed to be done, now more than ever. The only problem was, she wasn't able to look her mother in the face anymore.

Caroline glanced down as her phone lit up and rolled her eyes as Klaus's name popped up on the screen. **"Stop dawdling on the porch."**

She wrinkled up her nose in disgust. Seriously? She tapped out a text back. **"Creeper. Are you hiding in the bushes?"**

Her phone lit up again. **"Oh course not, my dear."** And, a moment later. **"I have minions for that."**

Caroline snorted but eyed the street warily. She wouldn't put it past Klaus to put a sentry on her house. He probably had her phone bugged too. She decided she'd spent enough time on the porch swing and let herself inside.

"Caroline, is that you?" her Mom called out, and Caroline sighed.

"Yes, Mom," she said, as she made a beeline for the stairs.

"I've made you something to eat!" she called back. "I thought you might want to have a bite to eat before Matt picks you up for the masquerade ball." Caroline raised her eyebrows at that. Her Mom cooking a home cooked meal usually only happened on public holidays...or when she needed to 'talk'.

"Sorry, Mom, I've already eaten at Elena's," She said, as she hurriedly climbed the stairs. The last thing she needed was another session of her mother's probing as she tried to figure out what was up with her. She was through her bedroom door before her mother could concoct another reason to have a family meeting.

Klaus Mikaelson was sitting on her bed.

"Hello, Caroline," he drawled, as if him lurking in her bedroom was the most natural thing in the world. "Your mother seems a tad worried about you."

" _Shh_ " she hissed, as she squeezed the door shut behind her. "Stalker much?" She listened to her Mom move around downstairs, oblivious to his presence upstairs.

"Creeper, stalker, you seem to be coming up with quite an array of descriptive terms for me, love."

"At least you acknowledge they're descriptive," Caroline said. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I brought you a present," he said, resting a hand on a box beside her. She recognised the designer logo on the top and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.

"You bought me a dress?"

"You're going to need it," he said, lifting the lid. Inside was a glittering black concoction which went a bit too well with the dark tailored suit he was wearing.

"I'm not going to the masquerade ball with you," she said. "I already have a date who is picking me up in an hour."

He laughed. "Tell me, what is it like to have a beard?"

"I don't think that phrase means what you think it means."

He pinned her with a knowing smile. "Close enough, and I'm afraid that tonight's ball might have escaped poor Matt's mind tonight.

"You don't say," Caroline bit out.

He smirked "Try on the dress."

Reluctantly, she lifted the dress out of the box. It was a low backed halter dress with a side slit that would break the public decency laws in several states. Someone had taken the phrase, slutty elegance a little bit too much to heart.

"If you think I'm wearing that, you're out of your mind," she said.

He smirked. "Too risqué?"

"Too expensive," she corrected him. "I'm a sheriff's daughter. This dress would cost three months of her salary. Every woman in the room with an ounce of fashion sense will know someone else had bought it for me – someone who isn't Matt."

He gave her a look, and then nodded as if conceding the point. "What do you have in mind?"

A part of her wanted to tell him to stuff it, that she was going stag, but the other, smarter, part of her decided to play along. She opened her closet and pulled out the red dress she's already bought for the ball. It was red and sexy and it went beautifully with the mask she'd already picked out. He gave it a lascivious look and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Why do you want to go to this ball anyway?" she asked.

"I need to retrieve an old family heirloom from the Lockwood estate," he said.

"An heirloom," Caroline echoed, the disbelief plain in her voice.

He smiled toothily. "It used to belong to my mother – Scout's honour."

"There weren't any Scouts when you were born," Caroline muttered.

"Nevertheless, love, I haven't told you a word of a lie."

That was a tricky sentence if ever she heard one. "Pick me up at eight," she said.

"I shall wear a red rose," he said solemnly and, with a gentle stirring of air, he was gone.

It was then that it occurred to her that Klaus had been in her _bedroom,_ which meant he had to have been invited in. At some point over the last few days, Klaus had intercepted her mother and compelled an invitation out of her... and who knows what else? The revelation chilled her as an insidious thought flashed through her mind.

She snuck out of her bedroom and into her mother's. It took a few moments, but she found her vervein stash in her sock drawler. She unscrewed it and sniffed, it smelled like vervein but... bracing herself for the stinging pain, she let a drop fall onto her hand.

It didn't sting.

"Asshole," she snarled to herself. That was it, no more messing around, she needed a plan. She was done playing catch up, she needed to get this dick out of her life and out of her mother's life...and for that, she needed more information, which made step one of her plan rather easy to figure out.

Get Klaus to trust her.

...she may have some issues with the execution.

* * *

 

Caroline looked out of the window as she heard the sound of a car pull up outside, Twitching the curtains aside, she rolled her eyes as she realised he'd pulled up in front of her house in a Lexus – medieval aged crisis, anyone?

She examined herself in her mirror. Her hair was curled and gleaming, her underwear was appropriately sexy and her dress clung to her curves in all the right ways. Her heels might be deemed a little too high to be terms as respectable, but they made her legs look fantastic. She smiled at herself in the mirror.

Perfect Klaus bait.

She bounced down the stairs. "Gotta go Mom!" she called out.

Liz stepped into the hallway. "Matt isn't coming to the door?"

Caroline settled on a half lie. "Matt couldn't make it, last minute shift," she said. "My friend Nik said he's fill in"

"Who's Nik?" Liz asked, puzzled.

"Bye Mom!" Caroline said, as she darted out the door. The last thing she want to do was 'introduce' them, especially as she was damned sure he'd introduced himself already. Even the thought of it made her blood boil.

Klaus was already out of the car, his eyes gleaming with mockery as he held the door open for her. It was all Caroline could do not to snarl at him.

"So what does this heirloom look like?" she asked, as he pulled out.

"It's called the moonstone," he said. "And, according to his dear uncle, Tyler Lockwood is in possession of it.

"You mean Mason?" Caroline frowned. "Damon thought he was werewolf."

Damon was correct," Klaus said. "Not that it's doing him much good now."

"Oh, you're just a laugh a minute today, aren't you?" Caroline said, not able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"What can I say, I'm in a good mood, love," he said.

She sighed. "What's so special about this moonstone?"

"And why would I tell you that?" He eyed her with amusement.

"Because I've known Tyler all my life. and he's a Grade A douchebag. He's not going to hand it over just because I flutter my eyelashes at him. I need to sell him a story and, as I have no idea how much he knows, the story needs to be close enough to the truth that I don't trip over myself."

"I wouldn't worry about that, love, the boy doesn't have a clue about its origins," he said. "And besides, you're just going to compel the answer out of him anyway."

"Of course I am," she sighed. Great, another thing to feel guilty about. "And what will you be doing?"

"I'll be mingling and getting to know the locals," he said, with a wide smile, and Caroline let out a snort of disbelief. They turned onto the Lockwood driveway, and Caroline sighed as she saw the people milling about, most of whom she'd known since childhood. Klaus was going to eat them up alive if she weren't careful.

"How are you going to cross the threshold?" she asked suddenly and Klaus gave her a knowing look

"I have already taken care of that" he said, and of course he had, because Carol Lockwood, just like her mother, was not drinking vervein anymore – and it was all thanks to her. Inwardly she seethed.

"Let's get this over with," she said.

He held out his arm, and she took it, raising her mask to her eyes as they entered the room. He tugged her close and murmured into her ear.

"I saw young Lockwood slipping off with some tasty little thing. Why don't you go after him?"

Untangling her arm, she headed for the stairs, not trusting herself to look back. It didn't take her long to track him down. She wrinkled her nose as she realised what she was about to interrupt. The glamorous job of being a lackey. She wrenched the door open, and watched Penny Watson, second alternate on the cheerleading team, on her knees between Tyler's thighs.

"What the hell?" Tyler said, as he hurriedly zipped up his trousers. Caroline didn't bother to hide her strength as she pulled Penny up and glared into her eyes.

" _Go home."_

The compulsion took hold immediately and she staggered to the door.

Tyler scrambled to his feet. "Penny, wait, don't listen to this crazy bitch-" She shoved him back onto the couch and pinned him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Forbes?" he hissed. "I always knew you weren't all there but-"

" _Where is the moonstone?_ " Caroline said, and his face slackened as the compulsion took hold.

"It's in the floor safe, over there." He pointed at the floor.

"Good boy," she said. " _Now get the moonstone for me and give it to me_." She loosened her grip and let him stand, watching as he bent down and opened a secret compartment in the floor. He removed a small, smoky white stone from its recesses and stood to give it to her.

" _Thank you, Tyler, you will not remember meeting me tonight. Penny just got cold feet and decided to go home early."_ She closed the door of the study behind her, and took a steadying breath before tucking the stone down the front of her dress and into her bra. Next stop, Klaus Mikaelson. Hopefully, she found him before he decided to eat his way through the band.

It didn't take her long to pick up the scent of blood and she headed upstairs. The scent was coming from Mayor Lockwood's room. Looking about to check if the coast was clear, she slipped into the room. He had her pinned to the bed, his fangs in her throat.

A gamut of feelings flooded though, some more pleasurable than she chose to admit, but she settled on anger. "What the hell are you doing?"

He looked up and gave her a blood smeared, fangy smile. "I was just checking to see if the lovely mayor is enjoying her vervein free life," he said .He bit into his wrist and forced it into Carol's mouth and Caroline watched as she struggled not to swallow, but the closing wounds in her neck proved she was unsuccessful.

"Have you got it?" he asked, ignoring the little strained airless gasps Carol made as he removed his wrist. It took a moment for Caroline to realise what had happening; she had been compelled not to speak.

"Give her her voice back!" she hissed under her breath.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm not done with her yet," he said. "Show me it." Reluctantly, Caroline pulled the moonstone from her bra and Klaus smiled smugly. "Excellent," he said, holding out his hand. Caroline reluctantly dropped it in his palm

He pocketed it and nodded towards the door. "Wait for me in the car," he said. It was a dismissal, and Caroline knew better than to ignore it. She left the room and tried to pretend there weren't tears forming in her eyes as she descended the stairs . She had never felt so powerless in her life.

 

* * *

 

 

The ride home was conversation free. Klaus seemed to be actually in a light hearted mood when he eventually joined her in the car, but he was keeping the reason for his good humour to himself. The car came out of nowhere as it rocketed into the side of the Lexus, and sent it spinning into the ditch. Caroline's seatbelt caught her as she flew forward, but Mister-I'm too-cool-for-seatbelts went flying through the windshield and landed on the road.

A Corvette came flying to a halt beside them and four bodies tumbled. For a split second, she thought they were stopping to help but then pain smashed through her skull. One of them was a witch. Her vision blurred and she panicked, she tore her belt off and took the door off its hinges as she tried to escape The pain increased and she stumbled onto the blacktop. She could hear the faint sounds of a scuffle, but it was the red pointy toed shoes stepping in front of her that caught her attention.

"Well, who are you?" the woman asked, as she hunkered down and pulled up Caroline's head up by roots. She was in her mid thirties, with fair hair and hard eyes."You're new," she said. "Elijah didn't say I had to kill you, but I suppose I can chalk you up as collateral damage."

Caroline snarled at her, letting her fangs run out, and the witch laughed as she pulled a stake from her jacket.

"Sorry sweetie, but you're going to need more than fangs to beat me."

"Alice," a voice called out, and her head instinctively turned at the call of her name. Caroline lunged, crushing the witches fingers around the stake as she changed its directory and plunged it onto the witches stomach.

"Bitch," the witch said, as she fell to her knees. The pain eased off but Caroline didn't like the gleam in witch's eyes. She dove for the throat, and the witch didn't utter another word as she drained her dry.

"When you're finished, love," said Klaus's voice, and Caroline looked up to find him standing over her, his suit a little worst for wear.

"She said she worked for someone called Elijah," she said, as she staggered to her feet.

"She used to work for me," Klaus muttered, as he glared at the remains of his Lexus. "Elijah must have turned her to his will in Savannah."

"Who is Elijah?" she asked.

"My brother."

Caroline stared after him as he stalked towards the Corvette. "You have a _brother_?"

* * *

 

They were grave digging in the woods again. It was almost becoming their thing. Caroline stood out of the way of the Corvette's headlights, rubbing her arms against the cold she didn't feel, as he methodically filled in the pit. How many graves had he dug over the centuries? It probably numbered in the thousands. She eyed the grim expression on his face and wondered what his relationship with his brother was like to elicit such a reaction. Was it something she could exploit?

She needed him to buy into the idea that she was reluctantly but inevitable shifting alliances. She wanted him to become complacent and convinced she was firmly under his thumb. It was a fine line – too eager and he'd grow suspicious and kill her, too resistant and he might kill her out of frustration.

She watched as he deposited the shovel in the Corvette's trunk.

"What do we do now?" she asked softly.

"Oh, I think you know exactly what we're going to do, sweetheart," he said. He blurred forward and she felt herself lifted and deposited onto the hood of the car. The look he gave her was hot and hard and Caroline felt her mouth go dry.

"Show me what I want," he said plainly and Caroline hesitated. This was a new game, although she recognised the hallmarks of his usual need to dominate. Time to start convincing him he was winning, she told herself, as she inched up her dress, allowing him a view of the lacy concoction she wore underneath.

"Very nice," he said, licking his lips. "Now touch yourself." Caroline couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow that, but he stared her down until she acquiesced and she leaned back onto the hood. His eyes darkened as she slipped her hand into her panties.

The last few weeks had given her an intimate knowledge of what her needs were when she masturbated, what drew her orgasms out slowly and what made her rocket over the edge. She massaged her clit, feeling herself grow slick as she made herself ready. He leaned in and, for a moment, she thought he was going to rip her hand away and start pounding into her, but instead he just pulled down her panties in order to get a better look. .

She let out a moan as she slipped a finger inside herself and his eyes homed in on the movement as if it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. Klaus liked to watch and that didn't surprise her in the slightest. She pushed in another finger and almost smiled when she heard his breath hitch.

She hit her rhythm, and could feel herself clench in anticipation as her fingers plumbed knuckle deep inside her. She ground herself against her palm, letting her orgasm build, and Klaus's hands fell to her knees and pried them further apart to have a better look. His eyes suddenly flicked up to hers.

"Time to come, love," he said lowly, and Caroline let out a strangled cry as she curved her fingers inside herself and shot over the edge. Breathless, she collapsed back onto the hood, languidly watching him as he brought her slick fingers to his mouth and licked them off.

"Turn around," he said, a few moments later, as he reached for the belt of his trousers, and Caroline bonelessly did what she was told, knowing what came next. She placed her hands on the hood of the bar and steadied herself . His cock was hard and ready when it pushed into her and she arched her back as he filled her. A few well timed thrusts and her over sensitized flesh was already needy again. He was beginning to know her _way_ too well.

She felt his fangs drag delicately against her neck, and the scent of her own blood filled her the air as his tongue to lapped at it. It wasn't as good as having his teeth buried in her throat but it was close. She stretched out her neck, giving him better access, and caught their reflection in the wind shield. She watched as he scored his fangs almost tenderly along her skin, and observed the changes in her own face as it responded; her eyes filling with blood as her fangs slid into place. It seemed that Klaus wasn't the only one with voyeuristic tendencies. He looked up and held her gaze in the reflection as he pistoned into her - two monsters fucking on the hood of a car. She felt his hands link with hers and the shift of his hips, and her orgasm ripped through her as he plunged deeper, hitting her cervix.

"Caroline," he muttered into her neck as he shuddered and heaved on top of her. It was the first time he'd just said her name during sex with no conditions attached it, and Caroline closed her eyes as he spilled inside her. She didn't know what she should be more worried about – the fact that they'd almost verged on intimacy tonight or that Klaus seemed to have an almost pathological need to fuck her every time she killed someone.

She'd go with both.

"Time to go home, love" he whispered in her ear as he pulled out of her, and Caroline almost whimpered at the loss of contact. She wondered what he'd do if she initiated another round but decided against it. He might find her sudden enthusiasm suspicious.

They got into the car and Caroline turned to look at him. "I swapped out that fake vervein crap you'd given my Mother with the real stuff again," she said

He smiled slyly. "Clever girl." He started the engine.

They drove off into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More plot and less gore this chapter but I felt the story needed to mova alonf a bit before the next bloodbath - I hope you enjoy anyway! (And thank you so, so much for all the wonderful reviews!!)

The first time her phone rang, she tried to ignore it. Why on earth had she decided to use Taylor Swift for her ringtone again? It played out until the end, and Caroline was about roll over and go back to sleep when it started again. She groaned, pulling her covers over her head. She wasn't ready to face the day yet. Couldn't they just take the hint? She slapped blindly at her bedside table and eventually her hand fell on the phone,

"This better be good," she answered groggily.

" _Have you seen Elena?_ " Caroline opened her eyes at the sound of Stefan's voice.

"No – what's wrong?"

" _It maybe nothing but she's not answering her phone and nobody has seen her since last night. Have you talked to Bonnie?_ "

Caroline sighed. "Bonnie can barely look at me at the moment, Stefan."

" _Right._ " There was a pause. " _I'll find Bonnie and you can talk to Matt_ " It was a good thing he wasn't there to see the grimace on her face.

"Right," she said aloud. "I'll give him a ring right now." She hung up and called Matt, biting her lip as she wondered what lie Klaus had compelled him to believe the night before, in order to cancel their date for the Ball.

" _Hello, stranger._ " There was a coolness to his tone that Caroline didn't like, but she ignored it. Time for that later.

"Hi Matt, have you seen Elena?"

" _Elena? No, should I have?_ "

Caroline sighed. "Nobody has seen her since last night," she said. "Stefan and I are ringing around to confirm she didn't just crash somewhere else last night."

" _Sorry, Care, I have no idea where she is, I haven't seen her since school yesterday,"_ Matt said. " _Listen, I've got to go_."

Caroline winced inwardly at the chill in his voice. He was definitely not happy with her. "Oh... right...I'll see you in school later, okay?"

" _Right_ ," he said, and the line went dead, Caroline frowned, what the hell had Klaus said to him? She tapped out a text to Stefan and he texted back a few moments later.

" **Bonnie hasn't seen her either. See you in school?** _ **"**_

Caroline rolled out of bed – welcome to Mystic Falls, where nothing ever happens... yeah, _right._

* * *

She found Stefan and Bonnie, along with Jeremy, hiding out in Alaric's classroom with a map. The smell of Jeremy's blood hit her the moment she entered the room

"What's going on?" she asked, as her eyes falling on the map. Jeremy's blood was moving along it as if it had a life of her own.

"A location spell," Stefan said. "We still haven't found Elena and she is nowhere in town.

Caroline looked at Bonnie doubtfully, seeing the strain on her friend's face. "Are you sure you're okay doing this?"

She nodded abruptly. "I'm fine," she said. She didn't look fine but, as Bonnie could barely make eye contact with Caroline at the moment, never mind give her an honest answer, she decided not to push it. She glanced down and watched the blood slither across the map until it pooled near it's edge.

"That's the middle of nowhere," Jeremy said. "What the hell is she doing there?"

"Spiritual retreat?" The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them and she winced at the dark look she got from Bonnie. "Sorry, inappropriate humour." she murmured. Stefan folded his arms and glowered at the map. Never a good sign, in Caroline's opinion.

"I'm going to get her," he said, proving her right.

"By yourself?" Caroline asked.

"If I have to, yes," Stefan said. "I've already had my brother disappear on me, I can't lose Elena as well." The look of haunted desperation on his face cracked open a well of guilt that Caroline had been trying her best to ignore. It was her fault he was hurting so bad and her fault his brother was rotting in a grave. Why did such a raging asshole like Damon have such a sweet brother who actually missed him?

"She opened her mouth to say she would go with him - after all, Elena was her friend too and it was her fault that Damon wasn't there to back him up – but the words wouldn't come out. Her eyes widened as she realised what was happening. Damn it, Klaus's compulsion wouldn't let her leave Mystic Falls without his permission! Stefan looked at her curiously.

"Caroline, are you okay?" he asked.

"Just a little frustrated," Caroline said, as an excuse popped into her mind. "I was just thinking it's a pity my Mom is on vervain again or I could have convinced her into letting me take a cross country trip with you."

" _Convinced_ ," Bonnie snorted, giving her dark look.

"Well, what would you expect me to do, Bonnie?" Caroline snapped. "Tell her I'm a vampire so that she can _also_ treat me like I'm just some kind of monster walking around in her daughter's skin? Sorry, I've already got one of those in my life, I don't need _two._

A look of almost guilt crossed Bonnie face. "Caro-"

"Save it," Caroline said. "I've got class." She stalked out of the room, not really sure who she was more mad at, Bonnie or Klaus. Which was stupid, because Bonnie was just hurt and angry, while Klaus was homicidal monster – in the end, not really a competition.

Caroline sighed. Could she say she was really any better? She had killed three people in the last week and, while two of those deaths were technically self defence, what about Greta? Sure, she'd threatened Bonnie, and she was definitely angling to take her out of the equation in whatever game she'd been playing with Klaus but – in the end – hadn't she really just killed Greta because she didn't _like_ her? Caroline might be blonde but she wasn't stupid. She knew a slippery slope when she saw one. Killing someone just because they got on your nerves was not the action of a proper human being.

But she wasn't human, was she? She was a vampire and that meant she was playing a different game with different rules, and if she didn't smarten up she wasn't going to make it to Christmas, never mind her next birthday. Caroline straightened her shoulders and pulled out her phone. The only way around Klaus's compulsion was to get him to lift it or change it somehow and she'd have to tell him Elena was missing in order to convince him – but his compulsion would force her to tell him everything this evening, anyway. If she called him now, she might at least get some advantage out of it

Ducking in the girl's bathroom, she hit dial

* * *

The phone call from Caroline had been a surprise, although it soon turned out to be an unpleasant one. "What do you man, she's missing!" he hissed down the phone.

"I mean nobody has seen her since last night but Bonnie has done a location spell and-"

"You can tell me in the car, I'll pick you up from outside your house in half an hour," he interrupted.

"What? No! I just need you to-"

He hung up before she could finish her sentence and turned to Maddox. "How many men do we have in the house?" he asked.

"Five vampires and myself," he said.

Klaus nodded. "We're going to need more," he said. "I have a peculiar suspicion we're going to receive a visit from my brother soon." He glanced towards the cellar door. "Which reminds me, I think it might be a good idea to take a few extra precautions – and have someone slip over to the school and meddle with Stefan Salvatore's car. Nothing too obvious, just something that will ensure he doesn't get too far in it."

He strode to the cellar door and descended the stairs. Katherine's desiccation was further advanced by now, but she was still conscious. He had Maddox feed the werewolf daily, as he still needed the pesky little fool alive. He needed a vampire and a werewolf to break the curse and he was a great fan of dramatic irony. the though of Katherine dying of the same fate she'd run from all those centuries ago pleased him... and as for the werewolf? Well, collateral damage and all that.

"Here to gloat again?" Katherine asked hoarsely.

"Perhaps next time," Klaus said. "But, for now, I'm going to leave you with a parting gift." He looked into her eyes, and enjoyed the feeling of power he had over her as her eyes dilated under his compulsion. _"Listen very carefully to what I have to say..."_

* * *

She jumped into the seat beside him the moment he pulled up outside her house, and automatically put her seat belt on. So young and still very human in her habits; that would change. He dropped a map on her lap.

"Show me where she is," he said.

She opened it up and pointed. "There," she said. "But Stefan has already left, we won't make it there before him."

"Already taken care of, love," he said, as he pulled out.

"What have you done to him?" she asked, looking up from the map

He rolled his eyes. "I've done nothing to him," he said. "Although the same can't be said for that vintage hunk of metal he drives. Poor Stefan, hitchhiking on a lonely country road, it may take him a while to reach his destination."

"You're such a dick," Caroline said, and Klaus smirked.

"Believe it or not, love, I've done him a favour," he said. "I don't think your Stefan would last very long against the person I think is waiting for him on the other end of that map trail."

She gave him a long look. "Who do you think it is?"

"My brother, Elijah," he said. "I think last night was an attempt to distract me while Elena was taken."

"Huh, that kind of makes sense," she said. She fell silent and Klaus glanced over at her, noting they little crease in her forehead.

"What are you thinking, love?" he asked.

She looked conflicted, as if she was trying to debate something with herself, before opening her mouth. "Why do you need Elena?"

Ah, it sounded like someone had been talking out of school – perhaps Greta? He had assumed Caroline had killed her because she posed a threat to her friend Bonnie, but perhaps he had misread the situation and it was more complicated than that. Could it be that little Caroline Forbes had made a tactical decision?

Interesting.

"She's the Doppelganger, love," he said, studying her response, and noting her lack of surprise. Somebody had definitely been talking out of school.

"But what does that mean?" she pressed. "Why is Elena so important?"

"She's a component for a spell, love," he said. "A very old one."

Caroline wrinkled her nose. "You talk about her as if she were a recipe ingredient."

He let out a bark of laughter. "In a way she is," he said.

"She's my friend, you know," she said, in a small voice. "And you're going to hurt her." He sighed. He'd known they'd have to broach the subject sooner or later, but he was rather hoping for later. He was liked the way things were between them at the moment.

"It's nothing personal," he said.

"Maybe not to you," Caroline said softly. She rested her head against the window and closed her eyes, and Klaus was not surprised when she didn't open them for the rest of the journey.

* * *

After what seemed forever, Caroline eventually felt the car slow and reluctantly opened her eyes. "What happens now?" she asked.

"Now we go and rescue your friend," he said, in a cheerful tone she found infuriating.

"So that you can use her later," she grumbled, as she opened the car door and stepped out. They were on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and she could just make out a farmhouse in the distance. "Couldn't you have parked a little closer?"

"It would have given away our advantage of surprise and we can't have that," he said. "This is what we're going to do – you'll be the bait and I'll be the trap."

Caroline glared at him. "Seriously?"

"Caroline, I know you're a bit annoyed with me at the moment but, unlike my brother, I actually need your doppelganger friend alive, so do play along," he said.

Caroline sighed but nodded. "How do want me to do this?"

"Well, it's really quite simple love, knock on the door and be as loud and demanding as you like. We both know you're rather good at it." He blurred away before she could think of a come back and she stomped up the lane. He wanted loud and demanding? She was more than happy to provide.

The house at first seemed abandoned, but then she picked up the muffled but familiar cadence of Elena's voice, along with a couple of others she didn't recognise - one man and one woman. She stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath and banged the door knocker.

"Hallo!" she cried out. "Elijah? Open the damned door!" The voices fell silent and Caroline felt a moment of misgiving. What if Klaus had decided she'd outlived her usefulness? What if he lets Elijah kill her as a delaying tactic? The door opened to reveal a female vampire, who carefully kept to the shade of the door. Caroline glanced at her hands – no ring.

"You bellowed?" the woman said, in the bored voice of the eternally cynical and British.

"Why yes, I did," Caroline said brightly. "But I'm pretty sure I asked for Elijah, not his lackey."

" _Oh, good grief,_ " the woman muttered under her breath, before yelling over her shoulder. "Elijah, baby vampire with a daylight ring at the door – one of yours?"

"No, not one of mine," said a cool, cultured voice behind her, and Caroline jumped, despite herself. It seemed creepy stalker moves were a family strait. Slowly, she turned around. He looked in his late twenties or early thirties and wore a well tailored suit. One look in his eyes and she knew she was in trouble. This was not Klaus. Klaus was a vicious little shit but, for some odd reason, he found her entertaining. This guy didn't look remotely entertained.

"And who are you?" he said.

Caroline ventured a small smile. "Avon Lady?" The world spun and she found herself slammed against a wall in the foyer. Having your neck choked wasn't fun, even when you're a vampire. She grasped at his fingers and tried to pry them loose, but to no avail.

"Let's try this again," he said grimly, as he loosened his grip. Her feet fell back to the floor as she gasped for air.

" _Shit._ "

Caroline watched as the other vampire was thrown across the foyer like a rag doll and slid along the polished floors. Her neck was at an awkward, broken angle. Elijah's head turned, and Caroline tried to make a run for it, only to find herself being dragged back by the hair and spun around. Her eyes widened as she noticed the stake in his hand.

"I don't take kindly to decoys," he said. Instinct made Caroline close her eyes, but she stumbled back as she suddenly found herself free of his grasp. She stared at the greying body on the floor, a chair leg caving in his chest.

"C'mon, love," Klaus said, extending his hand.

"But...but...you killed them," she said

"You're welcome," he said, as he grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the door. "Time to go."

But he's your _brother"_ she said. "And you _killed hi_ m _."_

"Not for long, unfortunately," he said. "I haven't retrieved the daggers yet. It's been some time since I've had an occasion to use them." He caught the puzzled look on her face. "He's not permanently dead, Caroline, he's an _Original_ , it takes more than a stake to the heart to kill him."

So she supposed she could scratch 'stake Klaus in his sleep' off her list of potential plans. She scowled as she looked around. "Where's Elena?"

"I sent her along to the car," he said, noncommittally.

"And she just did as she was told?" asked Caroline, eyeing him suspiciously. He shot her a look and Caroline sighed. "You compelled her, didn't you?" She slowed as they reached the car, realising what was about to happen. Something must have showed on her face because his softened slightly

"She's not going to remember any of this, sweetheart," he said.

"Maybe not, but she'll know _now._ She'll know I've been going around behind their back and spying on her, "Caroline said.

"You act like you've had a choice," he said. "You didn't."

"Don't remind me," Caroline sighed.

He came to a halt. "Stay here, he said, before he shot forward, and Caroline wondered if she'd just made things worse as she watched him open the back door and stick his head in. She tuned into his voice. " _You will sleep now and not wake up until morning. You will not remember any of the events of the last twenty four hours._ "

"I don't believe him," she murmured as he waved her over. For Klaus, this was almost a sweet gesture, which just went to show how much of a twisted bastard he was. She felt her mouth dry as she eyed the now sleeping Elena on the back seat.

"Problem solved," he said cheerily. "Get in.

* * *

It was night by the time they made it back to Mystic Falls, and Caroline waited in the car as he deposited the doppelganger on her porch.

"I want to go home," she said, as he sat back into the car.

"Later," he answered. They drove to his house in silence, with Caroline looking out the window, and it was almost a shock to hear voices when he pulled up to the house.

"Who are all these people?" Caroline asked.

"A few safety precautions," he said. ""I'm expecting to hear from my brother again very soon."

Maddox was waiting for him in the foyer. "Ah, just the man I was looking for," he said. "I need you to retrieve an item from my last abode – a wooden box, ye long." he measured out a foot with his hands. "It's in the bottom drawer of my study desk. I need it hear as fast as possible. If you leave now, you should make it back by morning."

He hesitated before nodding his head. "Of course, I'll leave immediately," he said.

"So loyal - have you compelled him too?" Caroline asked brusquely.

"You of all people should know that compulsion is a blunt tool, love," he said, as he pulled her into his study and closed the doors behind them.

"I don't know why you're even bothering to close the doors. The house is filled with vampires. They can hear everything you say," Caroline said.

He pushed her against the door, twisting her hair in his hand as he inhaled her scent.

"Seriously?" she muttered, "I thought we covered the fact the house is filled with vampires."

"But only two of them are here," he murmured back, before lifting her up and walking them both to the couch. They fell onto it and Klaus pulled her onto his lap.

"Something you want?" she asked, wriggling against him.

He didn't even bother to answer, she already knew what he wanted. He felt his hunger claw its way to the surface as he nuzzled her neck, smiling as she shivered. He nipped at her and mouthed the two little pinpricks of blood that swelled to the surface, closing his eyes as he savoured her taste

He sank his fangs into her.

She cried out, her nails digging into his shoulders and piercing his shirt and his flesh. It only took a few moments for her fangs to rip into him. No shyness this time.

He felt her pull at his jeans and he twisted her on the couch so that she lay beneath him. Such an eager little thing, he wondered if she knew how eager she was? His zipper gave, and she gave out a little sound of triumph against his neck before curling her hand around his cock. He pulled away, and she made a mewl of disappointment as he pried himself free of her hands and fangs.

"Try not to be so handsy, love," he murmured, and she puffed up, as if she was offended that he said such a thing. Klaus found it strangely endearing. He shoved up her dress, snagging her already damp panties, and ripped them off. She glared up at him, lips stained red with his blood, her skirt bunched up at her hips. The perfect picture of anger and arousal. He wondered how she'd react if he tied her hands above her head. Perhaps he should reinforce the bedposts of his bed.

He smiled at her and dove in for a kiss, making himself at home between her thighs. For him, this was the best part of Caroline - the way her body tensed in that moment before he entered her, that little breath that she didn't realise she took.

He let a hand slide down her thigh and locked her into place before he pushed into her. She let out a gratifying sound. Sweet little Caroline Forbes liked it rough and he was more than happy to oblige.

The couched protested under them but Klaus ignored it as he quickened his pace, adjusting it as he felt her legs curl around him and try to pull him closer. He was beginning to recognise all her little tells. The way her back arched when she wanted him to go deeper, the way her fingers curved into claws when she came. It was at this point he usually became bored with a woman in his bed, but he couldn't seem to stop the craving.

Klaus watched, fascinated, as her eyes fluttered closed, and revelled in the feel of her fingers digging into his back as she tightened around his cock. He shuddered with her, feeling his own release gather as he kissed her lips. They were inviting and soft and parted easily for him. He held on as long as he could, relishing the way she writhed under him, before spilling into her. She cried out into his mouth.

He collapsed on top of her and waited for their thrum of their hearts to ease, stroking her hair absently as his mind turned over the future. Truth be told, Caroline's usefulness as a spy had been somewhat eroded as a result of his earlier than planned return to Mystic Falls, but he found her...diverting, and that was not a phrase he used for a lot of people. Perhaps he could convince her to make a more permanent arrangement?

But that meant he would have to to seduce her into his life as well as his bed, and what did he have to offer that Caroline Forbes would want?

"I have to go," she murmured, as if sensing his thoughts. He let her slip from under him, and watched as she pulled her skirt down over a gloriously firm ass. She threw him a look over her shoulder, but didn't bother with goodbyes before she disappeared out of the room. He listened to her slip out of the house as he sank back onto the couch and thought of the inevitable battle to come, and how he definitely needed to reinforce those bedposts.


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

**And I'm back! I'm so glad people are enjoying this despite the dark turn of the story. Thank you everyone for taking the time out to read, favourite, follow and review! Now on with the show <3**

* * *

Elena told her about Rose's arrival in Mystic Falls during their lunch break.

"I can't believe the gall of her. She arrived at Stefan's this morning, and told him she was one of the vampires that abducted me."

Caroline tried her best to look puzzled - although, if she were perfectly honest, Elena was so distracted Caroline doubted she would notice if she had the words _traitor_ stamped on her forehead. "If she was one of the vampires who kidnapped you, then why is she staying with Stefan?" she asked.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Apparently, she's an old friend of Lexi's," she said.

This time, Caroline's puzzlement was real. "Who?"

"An old friend of Stefan's" Elena explained, as she stabbed at her lunch. "I have no memory of her face and she could be lying for all I know, but Stefan believes her," Elena pulled a face. "I _hate_ compulsion."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Caroline sighed, as she contemplated the irony of her life. "But I don't get it- if she was one of the vampires who captured you, why is she now trying to help you?"

"Don't ask me," Elena huffed, her frustration showing. "Something about the enemy of her enemy is her friend."

Caroline gave Elena a wry look. "Seriously?"

"I know, I know, I don't know what to believe," Elena muttered. "But I guess I can't afford to ignore what she said. If half of what she said about Klaus is true, then he's _really_ bad news. He's supposed to be the oldest and most powerful vampire on the planet and, according to Rose, he doesn't take no for an answer. He could come after my friends, my family, _anyone_ , to get to me. _"_

Ain't that the truth, Caroline mused, before opening her mouth. "If this guy wants to use you in his creepy ritual sacrifice, why did he leave you on your porch?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's the weird part,"Elena sighed. "I mean, if he wanted me so badly, why didn't he leap at the chance to lock me up when he had me?"

Caroline had a rather disturbing thought. What if Klaus was hoping to use Elena as a lure for Elijah? She picked at her lacklustre salad, wishing she had a nice bag of B positive to wash it down as she turned that thought around in her mind. Yeah, it wasn't just possible, it was probably likely, but there was nothing she could do about that at the moment so she concentrated on her other dilemma.

Rose in town definitely spelled trouble for her. Sure, she hadn't mentioned Klaus had an accomplice so far but that didn't mean it wouldn't come up in conversation eventually – and if she was staying with Stefan, they were bound to bump into each other. Rose was older than her and stronger than her. The only advantage she had at the moment was surprise so she should strike while the iron was hot. She needed to remove Rose from the equation.

Caroline shuddered as she realised her first thought was to kill her. She was definitely spending too much with Klaus. No, there had to be another way - like _compulsion._ Yes, that could work. She'd have to find a way of corralling Rose and getting Klaus to agree but it was doable.

"Caroline? Are you okay?" Elena asked.

"What-" Caroline blinked. "Oh, sorry, I kinda phased out there," She spotted Stefan enter the cafeteria and came to a decision. "Look, there's Stefan."

Sometimes, having vampire reflexes really worked in your favour, and all it took was the split moment Elena turned her head to smile at Stefan for Caroline to dip her hand into Elena's bag and snatch her phone. She slipped it into her bag as Stefan started towards them.

"See you in class," she said, standing.

"Oh, right," Elena said, frowning slightly. "Are you sure you're okay, Care?"

Caroline smiled, hiding the pang of guilt that ran through her. "I'm fine, I'm just having some teething pains at home."

Understanding shone in Elena's eyes. "Your Mom?"

Caroline nodded reluctantly. "She knows something is up. I guess it's only a matter of time before she figures it out." she said. She noticed Bonnie as she entered the room and decided to make good her escape. The last thing she needed was Bonnie picking up the truth from one of her witchy visions. She gave Elena a departing smile as she left, pulling out Elena's phone once she was out of her line of sight. Sure enough, there was Rose's number. Elena collected contact details like other people collected stamps. She literally had _everyone's_ number.

She texted out a message. " **Need to talk to you alone. Meet me behind the Mystic Grill after dusk."**

Taking a deep breath, she quickly removed the battery and sim card from the phone before stashing it in the bottom of her bag. The first part of her plan was in motion, now all she had to do was convince Klaus to help her. She sighed, something told her a quick phone call wouldn't do the trick.

This she'd have to do in person.

* * *

It hadn't taken Klaus long to manoeuvre her into his bed.

He had her pressed, cheek down, into his pillow, her hair tightly wound around his hand as he moved inside her. He craved submission like some people needed air and she resented how much her body responded to him. A deep ache hummed through her body as she felt his other hand trail down her spine possessively. Caroline hadn't believed it was possible to want and hate someone so much at the same time.

Was this a vampire thing? Was she now hardwired to fuck even someone she wanted to kill? She closed her eyes and imagined how it would feel, driving a stake into his heart as she rode him, his hips thrusting up into her as he suffered his death throes.

Her first orgasm took her by surprise, and she bit down on his pillow as she rode it out. His thrusts grew more erratic, a hand clawing at her hip as he angled deeper, and she found herself cresting again as he came inside her. This time she didn't bite the pillow in time.

He fell onto the mattress beside her and pulled her hair from her face, his face a picture of calculation. "So what was it you wanted again, sweetheart?"

"I need you to compel Rose to forget me," she said, curling on her side to face him.

"Hmm," His hand reached out to trace her hip. "Killing her might be a more succinct solution."

"I'd..." she hesitated. "I'd like to avoid that if possible. A missing vampire raises questions and as none of them know an Original can compel a vampire, they wouldn't even know there was anything to suspect."

"There is a possibility Rose may already know," he corrected her. "She was a part of my retinue in the past, before she crossed me."

"Then you can compel her forget that too," she said.

He pushed her onto her back and smiled. "You realise," he said, as he slithered down her body, his lips pressing a line of kisses along her skin. "That your reticence to kill is not a very good survival trait."

His mouth fell on one of her breasts, and Caroline let out a gasp as she felt his tongue slide long her pebbling nipple. She slipped her hand into his curls, and felt a jolt of amusement at their soft texture. Curls and dimples, he presented a pretty picture, pity it was only skin deep.

He bit down, fangs sinking into her breast and she arched up into it despite herself. This was more like it. Klaus the monster, ravaging her. If she were human, she'd be crying out in pain and fear by now, but she wasn't human She was a monster too and this felt so _good._

He raised his head and licked his lips, his dimples showing as he smirked up at her. "Dusk it is, then. I do hope you have a plan."

She grinned at him. "As it happens, I do," she said. "I get to play decoy again."

His smile almost reached his eyes. "I like this plan already."

* * *

She had a plan, it was a good plan; at least that's what she told herself as she paced the alley behind the Mystic Grill, but the sun had dipped under the horizon about twenty minutes ago and there was no sign of Rose – or Klaus, for that mattered.

"Looking for your Original friend?" Rose's voice said, and Caroline whirled around to pinpoint her location, looking up just in time to see her pounce from the rooftop. She leapt back, her back hitting the wall, and cursed under her breath as she realised she's lost both her the element of surprise and her manoeuvrability. Great, just great. She slipped her hand into her pocket, her fingers curling around the handle of her mother's browning. It wasn't her regulation gun, it was her back up weapon - the one with the vervain soaked wooden tipped cartridges. Never let it be said her mother wasn't prepared. She nudged the safety off.

"What, cat got your tongue?" she taunted. "Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you. Elijah said he wanted you alive."

Caroline shuddered as she remembered the cold calculation in the other Original's eyes. "No thanks, I think I'll take my chances with my current psychotic Original," she said. "Any chance you'd switch teams?"

Rose gave her a bitter smile. "Do you really think I'd be here if I had any real choice?" she said.

"Right, compulsion," Caroline said flatly. Rose didn't reply but she didn't expect her to. She'd been most probably compelled not to talk about it either.

"I've got five centuries years on you," Rose eventually said. "Come quietly and it won't hurt too badly." Caroline's eyes darted down the alley and Rose followed her glance. "If you're waiting for Klaus to make an appearance, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. He's otherwise engaged."

Caroline pulled out the browning and fired, hitting her in the chest twice. Neither of them hit the heart. She really needed to work on her quick draw. The vervain still made her recoil, however, and Caroline took her opening.

She _ran,_ blurring onto the main street and bouncing over the hood of a car as she streaked towards the town square. She knew she was going too fast for the human eye to see but Rose was still faster, even with the vervain in her system. On instinct she veered towards the road that crossed Wickory Bridge. Klaus may be otherwise engaged but he still had a coterie of vampires and at least one witch at his house.

She nearly made it to the other side of the bridge before a hand shoved her between the shoulder blades and she she found herself rammed into the side of the bridge.

"That _hurt_ , you bitch," Rose snarled.

Caroline felt her fangs descend as she swung around, and fired the rest of the clip at her. Rose blurred to get out of the way but Caroline still managed to land a few bullets home. She fell to her knees as the vervain took hold, and Caroline ripped a shard of wood from the bridge.

Rose began to laugh as she approached. "Five hundred years running from an Original," she said. "And I end up being killed by a baby vampire."

"I'm sorry," Caroline said. "This wasn't the original plan."

"You could still let me live," Rose said.

"But could you let me go?" Caroline countered. Silently, Rose shook her head

"Yeah, compulsion is a bitch," Caroline said, as she rammed the makeshift stake into her chest.

Rose's face greyed as she crumbled onto the bridge and Caroline bit back a sob. She had a plan so why hadn't it worked. Where the _hell_ was Klaus? She took a breath, and then another, and then straightened. First, she had to hide the body and then...

Caroline sighed. Then, she had to find Klaus.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! No real smut in this chapter, I'm afraid, just a lot of dead bodies (and a wee bit of character progression!) Thank you everyone who read, followed, favourited, reviewed and left feedback and theories! I read all of them gleefully (and sometimes cackle :-P)

Caroline could smell the dead bodies before she opened the door, feeling resistance as she pushed. The scent of blood sharpened and she delicately sidestepped a pool of it as she crossed the threshold and looked behind the door. She didn't recognise the body, but as his corpse wasn't greyed, she guessed that he had to be one of Klaus's new witches and not a vampire.

The body pinned though the chest to the floor with a chair leg, however, definitely was. She recognised his greyed face but she didn't know his name. She eyed the open cellar door and slowly approached it, extending her senses. She could hear breathing and the sluggish heartbeat of a vampire, but little else.

She reached for the stake she's broken off from the bridge, but then thought better of it. She needed answers so that meant she'd need the vampire alive. She took the spare clip she'd brought from her mother's house and reloaded the Browning. She was pretty much guaranteed that whoever was down there was older and stronger than she was.

Raising the gun, she slowly descended the steps but staggered to a halt as the sight of the carnage in front of her. She counted eleven - no, _twelve_ bodies - and in the middle, still alive like the cockroach she was, was Katherine Pierce. She was feeding from one of the bodies, a body with a face that Caroline recognised. It was Bonnie's new friend, Luka.

"Well, if it isn't little Miss Mystic Falls," Katherine purred. Blood coated her from head to foot and was beginning to dry and flake. "You're a little late to the party, aren't you?"

"Caroline's eyes darted around the room. "What the hell happened?"

"A surprise family visit," Katherine drawled. "And you know how badly an unexpected visit from relatives can go."

"Elijah," Caroline said. She recognised – barely - another body, that of Mason Lockwood.

"The one and only," Katherine said, staggering to her feet.

"Where's Klaus?" Caroline asked.

"Who knows, who cares? Catching up on old times with brother dearest, I suppose," she said, with a shrug. "Are you going to stand on that step forever?"

Caroline frowned, her mother's ingrained advice about keeping high ground had stopped her from stepping down into the room, but now that she thought about it – why hadn't Katherine attacked? Why was she even here? She began to laugh.

"He compelled you to not leave this room, didn't he?" she taunted. "That why you haven't killed me yet, you can't until I step down into the room."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "I wouldn't kill you. I need you alive and, even if I didn't, I'll still need you for leverage at some point down the road. The long game, Caroline, you'd better start thinking about it."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Do I look like a Doppelganger to you? I'm not leverage. I'm under no illusion about how much Klaus values me – I'm a pawn, nothing more."

Katherine grinned. "Oh, my dear, you really haven't figured it out yet, have you? He _likes_ you. Do you have any idea how rare that is?"

"Don't be stupid," Caroline said. "He compelled me, he fed from me, he uses me to spy on my friends-"

"-and you warm his bed on almost a daily basis," Katherine returned. "Didn't you think that slightly strange?"

Caroline shrugged. "That's sex," she said. "Nothing more, just because he likes to play with me doesn't me he likes me."

"Oh wow – you're really are in denial, aren't you?" Katherine drawled.

"Whatever," Caroline said. "What happened here?"

Katherine gave her a lopsided smirk. "What happened was you were only half right. Klaus did compel me to stay in this room, but that wasn't the only thing he compelled me to do. He also compelled me to resist anyone's attempt to remove me from this room, even if it meant dying in the process. Luckily, I managed to come out on top." Her eyes slid over to Mason. "He wasn't so lucky."

"Why was Luka here?" Caroline asked.

"Was that his name?" Katherine said. "He was one of Elijah's witch's, his father is somewhere here too – ah yes, the body in the corner." Caroline's eyes slid to follow her gaze and noticed the twisted body slumped there.

"I wouldn't cry any tears over them," Katherine said lightly. "Do you know why they were aligned with Elijah?. "They wanted to rescue their precious daughter and sister from the big bad Hybrid - and guess who _that_ was?"

Caroline took a steadying breath. "Greta," she said.

Katherine gave her knowing look. "Only a month old and you're already racking up an impressive array of enemies. I didn't know you had it in you, Caroline."

"You don't know me. Period," Caroline said coolly.

"Maybe not, but I do know we both have the same dilemma," Katherine said. "We're both at the mercy of Klaus's compulsion and as long as Elijah has him, that compulsion can never be lifted – how long before you're compelled to contact him, again?"

Caroline did the math. She was compelled to contact him once a day. It had been three hours since she'd last seen him, which meant she had another twenty one hours to go.

"Not that long, eh?" Katherine said, studying her face. "Do you know what happens when you can't fulfil a compulsion? It isn't pretty, you lose your ability to maintain the most basic levels of self-preservation as everything in you _screams_ to do his bidding. You'll be a lamb to the slaughter."

"Why are you telling me this?" Caroline said. "You don't care about anyone"

"But I _do_ care about _me_ , Caroline," she said. "I _care_ than I'm trapped in this room, I _care_ that I can't leave, and I _care_ that Klaus is the only one who can free me."

Caroline stared at her. She didn't trust Katherine Pierce for a moment – but could she trust her own self-interest? "What are you suggesting?" she said.

"I'm suggesting that you find a witch," she said. "You need to do a location spell as soon as possible, find him, and rescue him before the compulsion takes over your mind and turns you into a mindless automaton."

"I think we're fresh out of witches," Caroline said. "They're all dead."

"Really?" Katherine said. "Then where is Maddox?"

Caroline blinked. "Good question," she said. "But even if I had Klaus's location, I don't have a hope in hell of rescuing him. Elijah is an Original and, as you've already gleefully pointed out, I'm less than a month old."

Katherine sighed. "You may be less than a month old, but you're still a vampire, Caroline. All you have to do is compel yourself an army."

"Humans?" Caroline said. "I'd be turning them into cannon fodder!"

"And?" Katherine asked. "They're just humans, Caroline, _food_. Suck it up."

Caroline glared at her. "Good bye, Katherine," she said firmly, as she turned on her heels and ascended the steps.

"Don't be a child, Caroline, it's kill or be _killed_ ," she called after her.

Firmly, Caroline closed the door behind her and leaned against it. It was a terrible plan, an awful plan...so why was she still thinking about it? A dozen humans, ten dozen humans, it didn't matter. Elijah would slaughter them all.

Unless she could somehow even the odds.

The thought came unbidden and Caroline stilled. How could she do that? The same way she carved out an advantage against Rose, that's how. Her mother had an arsenal of weapons designed to be used against a vampire. Crossbows with vervein soaked and fire hardened wooden tips, vervain filled cartridges for shotguns, vervain grenades and nail bombs with wooden nails. Mom had got quite inventive of late. She smiled, despite herself, perhaps she could make this work after all. All she needed to do was keep Elijah down long enough to free Klaus.

She headed for Klaus's rolodex in the study, side stepping another grouping of bodies along the way. One thing she'd noticed about Klaus was that he was old fashioned enough to keep a copy of his contacts on paper. She flicked through the alphabet and eventually found Maddox's cell number under Flynn. She pulled out her cell phone and then paused – would Maddox even bother answering an unknown number? Her eyes landed on the house phone and she reached for it, spinning out his number on the old fashioned dial face.

He answered almost instantaneously. "Klaus?" he said, a shade of eagerness in his voice, and Caroline raised an eyebrow. She suspected that Greta wasn't the only witch with a thing for Klaus.

"No, it's Caroline," she said. "Where are you?"

"As if I'd tell you that," he scoffed. "I answer only to Klaus, not his bed warmer."

Caroline rolled her eyes. Yup, it was Greta all over again. "If you can get your head out of your ass for a moment, you'd realise the only reason I'd be calling you is if Klaus couldn't – he's been taken by Elijah."

"How? When?" he said, and Caroline could almost hear his mind change tracks.

"Sometime in the last three hours," she said. "And I'm not sure how, but as there are quite a few bodies strewn about the place, I'd say with great difficulty. I need you to do a location spell -so where _are_ you?"

"I'm about a half hour outside Mystic Falls, taking care of a few errands for Klaus," he said, after a moment's pause.

"Great! Get here as soon as you can. In the meantime, I need to compel myself an army."

"A human army isn't going to be much use against an Original," he scoffed.

"Which is why I'm going to try and give them a fighting chance with a few weapons my mother thinks I don't know about," she countered. "They won't be able to kill him but they should be able to slow them down long enough to get to Klaus."

There was a pause. "Actually, I think I may be able to improve on your plan," he said. "One of the errands I was running for Klaus was retrieving a dagger that can be used to take down an Original. It doesn't kill them permanently, but as long as the dagger is in place, they might as well be dead."

Caroline blinked, as a sudden thought came to her. "I'm surprised Klaus would allow a weapon that could be used against him to exist," she said.

"They don't work on Klaus," Maddox said. "He's...different from the rest of his family."

Caroline snorted; of course he was, so much for that brief glimpse of freedom. "Get here as soon as you can," she said, hanging up.

* * *

A coven of expressionist witches; in the end that's was all it took to take him down.

Klaus slumped idly on the armchair, and sipped from the glass of cognac he'd poured himself as he took in the details of the room. Dark wood wainscoting and floor, Persian rugs and Edwardian antiques... a well stocked bookcase, and an even better stocked liquor cabinet, completed the decadent trappings of his genteel prison.

But it was still a prison.

The coven had succeeded on taking him down long enough to shackle him with their specially reinforced chains before transporting him here, to this elegant study sealed with a barrier spell. He did a mental calculation - two days until the next full moon and, if the Grimoires he'd read over the years were correct, that is when the barrier would come down. The same full moon he was going to use to break the curse. Not a coincidence, Klaus suspected.

He heard his brother's familiar footfall outside the door and waited until he drummed up the courage to open the door; it only took a few moments.

"Brother," Klaus drawled. "Come to revel in your handiwork?"

"If you think I revel in this, then you don't know me very well, Niklaus," he said.

"Then why are you here," Klaus said. "To catch up on old times?"

"I'm here to see if I can figure out where we went wrong," Elijah said softly. "I need to know how we got here."

"You know very well how we got here, Elijah," he said. "Too many years of broken oaths and promises."

"You killed Kol, you killed Finn" Elijah said. "You killed _Rebekah._ How can I let you live?"

"I seriously hope you didn't come here looking for an answer to that, brother," Klaus drawled. "You're only going to be disappointed."

A scream rang out and Elijah lifted his head. "It seems we have company," he said.

"Don't look at me," Klaus said, with a lift of his hands. "I didn't send out any invitations." The front door shivered and blew inwards and a dead witch skidded across the parquet flooring, landing at Elijah's feet. Klaus laughed.

"I guess someone forgot to RSVP," he said. The sound of battle was in full evidence at this stage, and Klaus lifted an eyebrow at the sound of rapid fire. Who in lord's name brought a gun to a supernatural fight? The barrier shivered and Klaus smiled. He knew that meant only one thing – the witches were dying.

Maddox stomped over the debris and across the threshold, flanked by two humans holding shotguns, and Klaus felt a jolt of surprise. The witch was a proficient magic user but showed little initiative or imagination – it was why he'd preferred to have Greta around. She may have been a touch more possessive than she had a right to be, but the girl had been creative.

"Fire," he snarled., and the humans opened fire on Elijah, riddling him with bullets. The familiar scent of vervain filled the air and Klaus's lips curled upward. This was an interesting turn of events. He watched as Maddox pulled a familiar looking dagger from his belt and rushed forward and, for a moment, Klaus thought it might actually work, but Elijah's jerked aside at the last moment, and backhanded the witch, slamming him into the wall.

"Did you think you could take on _me_ , witch?" Elijah hissed. "I'm an _Original_." He darted forward for the final blow but was riddled again with bullets, this time by a blonde blur that sped into the room. Suddenly, it all became clear. This wasn't Maddox's plan, this was _Caroline's_. Elijah's head swivelled, his eyes narrowing, and Klaus recognised the murderous glint in his eyes. Klaus swallowed down the urge to tell Caroline to run. There were worse things than dying and Caroline would come to know them all if Elijah ever knew he cared for the idiotic girl.

He watched eyes widen as Elijah ripped a piece of wainscoting form the wall and fell on her. The world slowed as Klaus saw the stake Caroline pulled from her waistband, Even stained, he recognised it for what it was.

"Caroline, NO!" he cried out, but it was too late, her arm was already in motion and he pummelled against the barrier as the stake slid into Elijah's chest.

And missed the heart.

There was moment of utter stillness, as Elijah's wrestled the stake from his chest, his face blanching. "Where did you get this?" he asked, with a quiet menace made Caroline take a step back. " _Where did you get this?_ "

And then his face greyed as he fell forward, a dagger in his back. Maddox and Caroline stared at each other over Elijah's body. The barrier shivered again and Klaus pressed against it, feeling it give against his hand. He pressed forward and picked up the stake, turning it over in his hands.

_White Oak._ Where the hell had she got it – Mikael?

"What's wrong?" she asked, and Klaus smoothed his face. It wouldn't do for her to be able to read him that well.

"Where did you get this, love?" he asked lowly.

"What? The stake?" she said, looking at him with a bemused expression. Those eyes, so blue, so innocent looking. "It's just a bit of wood I ripped from the Wickory bridge - why, what's wrong with it?"

He studied her face, looking for subterfuge and finding none. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. He moved closer, curving his hand around her face as he looked into her eyes and watched them dilate. " _Are you telling me the truth?_ "

"Yes," she murmured. "And Klaus sighed with relief, leaning his forehead against hers. He would have hated to have to kill her. He kissed her lips, a gently touch that flared into something more as he gained entrance to her mouth. He pulled her closer, crushing her to him. Resourceful little Caroline, he was growing terribly attached to her. She whimpered against his mouth and Klaus could smell her growing arousal. The thought of taking her right there flitted through his mind but, unfortunately, they had a battleground to clean up. He pulled away.

"An army of humans?" he murmured. "That seems to be an awful lot of collateral damage for your tastes, even if you did arm them."

Yeah, about that," Caroline said, looking slightly embarrassed. "I may have fed them some of my blood before we came here."

Klaus laughed and threw an arm around her. "A happy moment of serendipity, sweetheart," he said. "As it happens, I'm in need of a few more vampires."

" _Not_ the reason I did it," she said reluctantly.

"Nevertheless…" he stroked her face and took her hand in his, noting her expression of bewilderment as he smiled down at her. "Come along, Caroline. We have an army to feed."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! Lots and lots of you had loads to say about the last chapter. I'm so happy you liked it! A big shout out to those who kudoed as well. You guys are amazing!

In the end, there were seventeen dead. Seventeen new vampires, freshly turned and compelled, and feeding in the drawingroom – Maddox had secured them a few humans from the less desirable parts of town in order to facilitate the transition. Klaus smiled, it was all turning out quite well, despite his initial losses.

In an armchair beside the fireplace sat Caroline, her eyes cast down, her hands neatly folded on her lap. He knew enough about Caroline's body language to know she was very unhappy with him – but in the end, what did she suppose they would do with them? Let nearly a score of newly turned and ravenous vampires loose amongst the population of Mystic Falls? That would never do – especially as he'd endeavoured so successfully to keep his presence under wraps. Such a large influx of freshly turned vampires would raise alarms he wished to avoid.

He was so close to breaking the curse, he could almost taste it.

Only two days until the next full moon and all he needed to do was find a replacement werewolf for the sacrifice. Luckily, he happened to know exactly where to find one – or, at least, where to find a _potential_ werewolf. Curses were pesky things.

"Love, I need to go out, I'd like you you to stay here until I return."

"It's nearly dawn," she said apathetically, not meeting his eyes. "I need to go to school."

He felt a spurt of irritation. "I think you can afford to miss a day of class, Caroline," he said flatly, causing her head to bob up. Ah, eye contact, fantastic; he swallowed a grin as he saw the anger glowing in her eyes. Anger he could deal with.

"What's the matter, Caroline," he said. "Don't tell me you need to attend first period algebra _that_ much." he paused. "Although, admittedly, your math does need a little work."

"Seriously? You're making jokes about math?" she snarled. "There are four dead bodies in the other room - four people that are _never_ coming back!"

"Caroline, love, you don't expect me to turn everyone I kill," he purred, as he watched her face come alive with rage. "That might be logistically rather messy."

"You could have used _bloodbag_ s," she said, her hands curling into fists. "Did you really think I really went to the bother of making sure none of them died permanently so that you could kill some other poor innocent in their stead? Don't you think I already feel bad enough?"

"They're only a few street bums, love-"

" _Only_ ," she hissed. "Ugh! You're impossible. If it wasn't for this damned compulsion I would have let you rot in that room your brother imprisoned you in. It's all you deserve!"

Klaus good humour withered away. "I didn't compel you to rescue me, you did that all by yourself," he said flatly.

"And if I hadn't rescued you, what would have happened?" she countered. "I'm sorry, but mindless zombihood is not on my list of things to do this week! I like the ability to use all my braincells"

Klaus stilled. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. Her eyes darted to the side, and the pieces fell into place. "Katherine," he hissed. "I'm afraid you were taken for a fool, Caroline. I'm not saying the compulsion wouldn't have been uncomfortable, and you would have tried your damnedest to fulfill it, but you still would have had control over _how_ you fulfilled it – not that turning a person into a mindless automaton isn't possible, love, but that isn't what I have in mind for you."

Her lips fell into a thin line. "And those vampires in the other room – what about them?" she asked. "I heard what you did. You didn't just compel them to obey you, you compelled their loyalty!"

He leaned in, studying the sharp expression in her eyes."I'm not the first to compel them into submission, sweetheart, that honour goes to you." She recoiled as if she'd been stung, and he rewarded her with a bitter smile. "You and I are more alike than you want to admit, Caroline, and the sooner you realise it, the easier it will be to be make peace with it – why do you think I insisted on feeding your vampires people rather than blood bags? Because it isn't enough that a vampire knows just how to feed, they also need to learn how to kill, and the more you delay that moment, the more difficult it is for all concerned." He stood up. "I'm going out now, be here when I get back, we have much to discuss."

* * *

The door shut behind him with a firm bang and Caroline waited until she heard the car engine start before she moved. In the next room, she heard the new vampires shuffle about. Dawn had come and daylight streamed into the foyer. They were trapped in the dining room with it's drawn curtains and Caroline felt more than an ounce of relief at that. Despite what Klaus said, she was fully aware that the vampires were as much her victims as Klaus's and, unlike him, she no longer had the luxury of compelling their loyalty or submission.

Maddox had disappeared with Elijah's body a few hours ago and she suspected he was at that second location he'd been at when she'd called him yesterday; the one that Klaus didn't want her to know about, which made it interesting in itself. But first things first – who knew when she'd next have another opportunity to talk to Katherine?

She descended the cellar steps and found Katherine once again chained up. There was a paleness to her face that shouldn't be there, considering she'd recently fed – had Klaus drained her?

"Well, if it isn't the cheerleader triumphant," Katherine drawled, as she pulled herself to her full height.

Caroline crossed her arms. "You lied to me," she said.

"I may have skirted around the absolute truth," Katherine allowed. "But a girl has to look after her own interests, and I wasn't about to let Elijah condemn me to this cellar for all eternity."

There was something Katherine wasn't telling her about Elijah, Caroline could sense it, but it wasn't Katherine's history with Elijah that she was here to talk about. "I need you to tell me the truth about the Sun and the Moon curse," she said.

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "And what is in it for me?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know – surviving?" Caroline said. "It's only two days until the next full moon."

Katherine studied her for a moment, and then shrugged. "And how exactly do you think you can rescue me from my fate?" she asked.

"I can't...but maybe I can give you an opportunity to save yourself," Caroline said. "Soon, Klaus is going to have to release you from this room in order to carry out the sacrifice and when that happens I can give you the freedom to run."

"Vervain." Katherine said, blinking

"Exactly," Caroline said. "So do we have a deal?"

Katherine smirked at her knowingly. "How do I know you will honour your side of the bargain?"

"You don't" Caroline said. "But as your only other option is dying, something tells me you're not going to pass it up."

"Ooh, bitchy," Katherine purred.

"Just spill," Caroline said, rolling her eyes.

"Very well," Katherine said. "The secret to the Sun and the Moon curse is actually quite simple – it's all a _lie._ "

* * *

Caroline was sitting in the armchair Klaus had left her in when he arrived home. He had a jaunty pop in his step and a smug expression on his face as he strode into the room and it made her blood boil.

"Caroline, sweetheart," he purred, as he pulled her out of her chair and slowly kissed her. He tasted of fresh blood and she could feel him grow hard as he ground against her. Her body betrayed her again and she moaned into his mouth.

Taking that as his cue, he lifted her up, and Caroline wrapped her legs around him as he blurred them both upstairs.

"What have you done to the bed?" she asked, as he threw her onto it. The bedposts seemed thicker...and were those metal rings? Caroline felt her mouth go dry. They looked uncomfortably like the rings Klaus used for the chains in the cellar. "What are those for?" she asked, warily.

He gave her an amused smile as he shed his pants. "Those are for restraints, Caroline," he said, as he prowled forward, buck naked.

"Getting a little ahead of yourself there, aren't you?" Caroline asked, although it occurred to her that the chains may not be for her. He could have a whole parade of females going through this room when she wasn't around, although she had never picked up their scent. Not that she'd checked or anything. Yeah, right.

It's not jealousy, she was just being...territorial, she told herself, because why would she be jealous of someone sharing Klaus's bed? If anything, she should be feeling pity for them. Her mind flashed to the revelations she'd just learned about the Sun and the Moon curse, and felt her resolve strengthen. Yup, definitely not jealousy.

He must have sensed some of her unease, however, as the next thing he did was lean down and tilt her chin up.

"No need to worry, Caroline, I prefer you willing," he said, and Caroline thanked the stars he so rarely compelled her nowadays.

"And what if I'm never willing?" she blurted out.

Klaus's smile widened. "Oh, I think you will be," he said. "The only real question that remains is whether you wish to be on your back or your knees." His hand had already undid the buttons of her jeans and the smell of her arousal betrayed her utterly as he pushed them down over her hips. He made short work of the rest of her clothes, and Caroline winced as she heard something rip.

He pulled her close and brushed her hair from her neck, pressing an open mouth kiss to the curve of her throat as he ran a hand down her thigh and pulled it over his hip. Caroline sighed as his cock pushed into her, easing the ache of want he'd already planted there. Fangs scraped at her neck and Caroline arched into them, clutching at him as they sank into her flesh.

She felt the pull of him in her blood and her human face melted away as her mouth salivated with the need to taste him. She couldn't find the words to describe how it feels to sink your fangs into someone. Stefan sometimes likened it to an addiction, but Caroline didn't think that did justice to the intense feeling of gratification that poured through you when you felt the skin give under your bite.

She bit into his throat, moaning with relief as his blood poured into her mouth and slid down her throat. Their legs and bodies became a languid tangle as they fed from each other and Caroline knew this was way too close to to something other than sex, but she what else could she do? This was her life now, trapped between Klaus and her friends, between what she wanted and what she desired – but what she _wanted_ to do was help Elena and what what she _desired_ was Klaus, god help her.

She rocked against him, feeling a moment of prideful satisfaction as he moaned against her throat. His grip tightened into a vice and the blood flowed freely between them as they wrapped around each other, skin to skin. Caroline felt herself tremble with the intensity of it. Did it always feel like this, or was it like chemistry? Did you just click with some people more than others?

He began to move inside her, a slow, languorous rhythm that slid her gently over the edge and into the hot glow of release – but still she kept feeding, soaking in the feeling of completion she felt as he bucked and came inside her. It was all an illusion of course, none of this was real. Klaus was a monster.

"Ropes or chains?" Klaus murmured into the shell of her ear as he pulled out of her. Once again, her mind flew to Katherine's words: _He's going to kill your friends and become the most powerful and unstoppable creature in the world._ She closed her eyes, shifting against him, as she felt the sudden, gentle pressure of his thumb against her clit. She could feel her body already priming itself for him, wanting him inside her.

But she also needed to find a loophole, a way to help Elena that didn't go against her compulsion... her eyes flew open as a thought occurred to her. Why not do the exact same thing she'd done to the men below? Sure, Elena would hate her...but at least she'd be alive.

She turned to look into Klaus's eyes, blue and grey and stormy. "Mirrors," she said, and watch his eyebrow arch in surprise before realisation struck and he slowly licked his lips. Caroline smothered a smirk. Klaus was not the only one who could distract someone with their own desires.

And distract him she would.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you guys know by this stage that this story has a pretty dark leaning, but I thought I'd warn for torture in this chapter nonetheless.
> 
> (Also, sorry for the length of time between updates, I've just moved house, and it was more of an upset to my routine that I originally thought it would be.)

 

The Lockwood boy had not taking the recent death of his father well, that much was apparent. It was with some amusement that Klaus watched Tyler half fall out of his newest conquest's car and stagger towards his front door. Between the booze and the womanising, he was practically a poster boy for rebel without a clue. Whether the alcohol was a result of him trying to self medicate his grief, his inner wolf, or a bad habit he'd picked up from his parents, he wasn't sure.

But, in the end, he didn't need to know what made Tyler tick, he just needed a werewolf, and feeling pity for the boy was a waste of energy. Tomorrow night was the full moon and he was going to die – but, first, Klaus needed to trigger his curse.

He could have picked a townie, he could have picked one of the girls the boy had been bedding, but he felt that lacked a certain poetry. No, this had to hold meaning, the boy had to _want_ to die... and Klaus knew only too well the best motivator for self annihilation.

Guilt.

Klaus smiled as he watched Carol Lockwood pull into the drive – _showtime._

* * *

Caroline had grown to expect to unexpected when visiting the Gilbert household nowadays, but John Gilbert, with his sharklike smile, was still an unwelcome surprise.

"Mr Gilbert!" Caroline said, forcing a smile on her face. "I didn't know you were in town."

"It was an... impromptu visit," Gilbert said dryly. "I assume you're here to see Elena?" Caroline nodded and he tilted his head in the direction of the kitchen. "She's making dinner."

"And she hasn't burned the house down yet?" Caroline joked, as she slipped by him.

He gave her a cool look. One that made Caroline feel very uncomfortable. Didn't Elena mention he was part of the town council – the vampire hunting part? Luckily, he didn't seem eager to stick around and Caroline watched as he reached for his coat. "I hope you're staying for dinner?" he said.

"Sorry, can't," Caroline lied. "Just popping around to say hi before I go home to hit my revision notes. Big test tomorrow."

He gave her nod. "Well, give my best to your mother," he said, before slipping out the door. Not for the first time, Caroline wondered how Elena _really_ felt when she found out that Uncle Creeper was in fact her biological father. That must have been a fun moment. She reached into the pocket of her cardigan and fingered the vial of her blood nestled inside. She knew Elena would never forgive her for this, but, once she'd found out about her and Klaus, and how she'd killed Damon, Elena was never going to forgive her anyway. At least this meant Elena would survive this mess.

She gave her hair a flip, practised a smile in the hallway mirror, before turning on her heels and bouncing into the kitchen. Time to save a life and destroy a friendship.

"Elena looked up from a bubbling pot and blinked before smiling. "Caroline, hi, I wasn't expecting you," she said.

"And I'll bet I'm not the only one you weren't expecting," she said brightly. "When did Uncle Dearest make a return visit?"

Elena wrinkled her nose. "This morning." The pot began to bubble over and, cursing under her breath, Elena reached for the handle. In a flash, Caroline was across the room, slapping her hand away as she reached for a towel.

"Hey! Elena protested.

"Hey yourself," Caroline retorted back, as she wrapped the towel around the handle and moved it. "Unless your hands has become magically heatproof in the last few days..."

Elena rolled her eyes but then smirked. "Caroline Forbes, my saviour," she teased.

Caroline felt something shrivel up inside of her. Would this be the last time Elena looked at her and saw a friend? What would they be after tomorrow night – enemies? She summoned up another smile. "So, what exactly is this supposed to be?" she asked.

"Uh, Marinara sauce?" Elena ventured.

Caroline smirked. "Tell you what, how about you boil the water for the pasta and I'll see if I can rescue this. Think you can manage that?"

"Hmm, let me see, water, boil..." Elena said. "I'd say about I have a 50/50 chance of success!"

Caroline elbowed her and Elena began to laugh. "I'm glad you called over, Care," she said. "it's nice to be normal for five minutes."

Caroline arched an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just more doom and gloom, courtesy of John Gilbert and whatever weird plan that ancient vampire has for me," Elena sighed. "I don't want to talk about it, to be honest, it's all I've been talking about all day." She turned and reached up to a cupboard and Caroline whipped out the vial of her blood and emptied it onto the marinara sauce. She reached for a wooden spoon and stirred the blood into the sauce as Elena turned around again. There may be no way of stopping Klaus, but she was damned if Elena wasn't going to survive this.

* * *

He found the Lockwood boy crying on the stairs when he entered the house. As well he should,, matricide was never a matter to be taken lightly. Carol Lockwood was sprawled on the marble floor, her neck at an awkward angle that spoke of a broken neck, her eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

"Oh dear," Klaus drawled. "Has there been an accident?"

It took the boy a moment to focus on him. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"Klaus smiled grimly. "I'm the man behind the curtain, mate," he said, as he stepped over the Mayor's body. He watched, amused, as the boy's jaw tightened.

"You need to leave," he said.

"I think you'll find that I need to do no such thing," Klaus drawled. "You, on the other hand, really need to vacate the premises as soon as possible, seeing as you're about to be wanted for murder."

"It was an accident!" Tyler said.

Klaus tutted under his breath. "Well, hardly, this was a very meticulously arranged death... although not by you, I must admit," he said, as he brushed away an imaginary piece of lint from his jacket.

Tyler's eyes narrowed. "I don't...wait, you're not human."

"Ah, I see those werewolf senses are at last coming into play, congratulations," Klaus said. "And I'm a vampire."

"Those _exist_?"

Klaus laughed. "My god, your family really did keep you in the dark, didn't they? I'm guessing they didn't tell you about witches either." "Well, come along, I have a devious plan to hatch and you're a vital ingredient."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Tyler said. "And if you're a vampire, how did you get in here? Don't you guys need an invite – or is that not true?"

"Oh, that part of the legend is true, all right, but as Carol so generously bequeathed me this charming property in her will, I'm not in need of it."

Tyler jumped to his feet. "You stole my _home_?"

Klaus shrugged. "Look on the bright side, it's not as if you're going to be in need of it." He blurred across the foyer and let a heavy hand fall onto Tyler's shoulder. Their eyes met, and the young werewolf lost his free will as his eyes dilated. " _You are going to do exactly what I say,_ " Klaus said.

* * *

There was a swing in Caroline's step when she walked up her driveway. Yes, her world was falling apart; yes, there was a good chance that everyone important in her life will hate her after tomorrow night, but at least she was at last gaining back some control over her life, even if it was only in small, incremental ways.

It wasn't much to be happy about, she supposed, but it was more than what she had to hold onto yesterday, and Caroline was nothing if not a natural optimist. She rooted around in her bag for her keys as she mentally went over her plans for tonight. She still had to get some vervain for Katherine but, other than that, it was her normal routine

She hadn't stayed home overnight in quite some time, but her mother didn't know that. Every evening, she came home, threw out a bit of small chat, maybe ate some pasta dish with her mother, and then 'retired' to her room for the evening. She'd be found out, sooner or later, but as 'hanging out with an ancient super villain' wouldn't exactly the first thing that would come to her mother's mind, Caroline felt she could safely blame her absence on liquor and boys.

She at last found her keys and pulled them out, but then blinked as her door suddenly opened – John Gilbert?

"Mr Gilbert," Caroline said, bemused. "I wasn't expecting you here."

He gave her a casual shrug. "Just a little Council business, you know how it is," he said. "I think Matt is waiting for you in the drawing room."

"Matt?" Caroline echoed as she followed him into the house. Guilt, pretty much her default feeling whenever she heard his name nowadays, gnawed at her. It had been days since she'd talked properly with Matt, and over a week since they'd been alone together. The lingering death throes of their relationship now felt like a constant elephant in the room and even the thought of having that inevitable conversation with him made her mouth go dry with anxiety. She had cared for him for so long, and had even liked him while he was still dating Elena. She had never imagined that she would one day want to end it.

She gave herself a mental kick. Ending it was the best thing to do. Sure, Matt was kind and loving, and she could never hope for a better boyfriend, but she had to be honest with herself. The days when she was girlfriend material for a sweet boy like Matt were well behind her. She squared her shoulders and gave John Gilbert a smile as she walked into the drawing room.

Matt was sitting uncomfortable on the edge of an armchair, a thin smile on his face as she entered the room. "Caroline," he said, getting to his feet.

"Matt!" Caroline said, inwardly grimacing at the awkward squeak in her voice. The lack of an amused smile on Matt's face, which was his normal reaction to her more Caroline moments, set off the first alarm bells in her mind. "Matt, what's wrong?" He shook his head, and Caroline saw the light of anger in his eyes.

"As if you didn't know," he said bitterly.

"Matt-" She took a step forward and then staggered to a halt as he took an instinctive, fearful step back. Oh god, he _knows_... Maybe it could be fixed. Matt wasn't on vervain, and if she could compel him to forget again-

The sting of the dart took her by surprise, and she was already falling to her knees before she realised she'd been poisoned with vervain. She should have seen it coming. The cool shoulder from Matt over the last few days, the fact her that her mother wasn't trying to pry into her life as much as she used to - the very moment John Lockwood opened her mother's door and smiled glibly down at her, she should have realised it all screamed _trap -_ but this was her home, and Caroline was still human enough to believe home meant safety

She should have remembered betrayal never came from strangers. Betrayal always came from those you love.

* * *

Klaus could say something for the Lockwood boy, he could dig a grave pit like a trooper. All his newly acquired vitality from his activated werewolf gene was coming in handy. It was pity, really, all that power and potential...it might have been interesting to see what he'd be like as a hybrid. It was almost a waste to use him in the sacrifice, but as Mason Lockwood was no longer a viable substitute, needs must.

He idly toyed with the cellphone in his hand, skimming through the Mayor's organiser app. She really was a busy bee, all these new appointments with the sheriff and even one with John Gilbert. If memory served him right, he was the Doppelgangers biological father and an associate of Katherine Pierce. Was he in town looking for Katherine, or had got wind of his own presence? Something definitely worth checking out.

A text appeared on the screen and Klaus frowned. It was from Liz Forbes. He read it and felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck. " **Where are you Carol? We have her vervained. We need to question her soon."**

He stilled, as he went through all the possible permutations, but he only came up with one solid answer. They were talking about Caroline. He shifted on his feet as he realised that the town council must have got wind that something was up, probably because he's been foolish enough to let Caroline stop feeding her mother vervain, when the clever thing to do would have been to keep the Sheriff under his compulsion.

The only thing that worked in his favour was that Caroline, unlike her mother, was still under his thumb. It didn't matter how much they questioned her or how much they tortured her, she would never tell them what they want to know.

So why didn't he feel happy about that?

He couldn't rescue her. That would be foolish. They may suspect that all was not right in their cosy little town of Mystic Falls, but once he turned up on their doorstep, all their suspicions would be confirmed. It was hardly something to worry about, they didn't stand a chance against him, but this was their home territory, and John Gilbert had connections. They couldn't stop him, but they might be able to put enough roadblocks in front of him to slow him down, or even delay the ritual until the next full moon – and a lot could happen between now and the next full moon...

He broke open the back of the phone, removed the battery and sim card and threw the disassembled phone into the grave. He nodded at Tyler, who carefully picked up his dead mother and deposited her as gently as he could into the hole, before picking up the shovel again.

Klaus watched as Tyler covered his mother's body with earth, and felt the gnawing ache in his stomach that had nothing to do with the Lockwood boy's obvious grief. He had just come to the realisation that he'd never really had a choice to make. The idea of someone else torturing Caroline, hurting her, was intolerable. He was going to get her.

Even if he had to kill everyone she knew in order to do it.

* * *

Consciousness came slowly, a sliding awareness what didn't make sense until the pain started. Then she remembered, and it all slid into focus with startling clarity. She tilted her head as watched her mother finish tying her to a chair with vervain soaked ropes.

"Mom?" No answer. "Where are we?" Her mother didn't look at her as she turned and walked out of the dank room and closed the steel door behind her. Steel doors, stone walls, no windows; it looked like a dungeon, or that room in the Salvatore mansion – it looked like a room designed to hold vampires.

She took a deep breath and felt her fangs threatening to descend, as despair and anger warred within her. She was going to die in this room. Her mother was going to kill her.

The door creaked open again, and John Gilbert, followed by her mother, entered the room. Gilbert gave her a condescending sneer. "Did you think we'd never find out?"

"More hoping than thinking," Caroline joked half-heartedly, because what else could she say? She was a vampire and the council killed vampires. Begging wouldn't change that.

"This isn't a laughing matter," he hissed. "What have you compelled the deputies to do? Tell us!"

For a moment, Caroline didn't have a clue what he was talking about, and then she realised what was happening. They didn't realise Klaus was in town. All his little machinations, all his little dominoes in play – like the compelled deputies – they actually thought it was all her. Caroline Forbes, evil vampire mastermind, taking over the town in between cheerleading meets? She began to laugh.

Gilbert slapped her, causing her head jolt back and ring with pain, and Caroline realised they must have pumped even more vervain into her system while she was still unconscious. It had made her susceptible, even weak, but it still wouldn't give them what they wanted – answers. She looked past Gilbert and into her mother's eyes, watching as she averted her gaze and studied her phone. There would be no help there.

She felt something shift inside her as she began to comprehend her new reality for the first time. Caroline still loved her mother, she would always would, but one thing had become crystal clear in the last few hours, her mother didn't consider Caroline her daughter anymore - didn't consider her worthy of her love rf protection, or any of those familial things that a human takes for granted. She and her mother were two beings on either side of a great yawning divide, and while Caroline's heart quaked to call them enemies, it was near enough.

A part of her came to a decision she never thought she'd never make. Wanting her mother's love and acceptance made her weak, so she had to bury that weakness and accept her new world for what it was. She was a vampire, not a human, and she was trapped in a room with two people that wanted to kill her.

Something must have showed in her eyes, because Gilbert's eyes narrowed. "You're going to tell us everything you know, even if I have to torture it out out of you word by word." he said, as he pulled a stake from his jacket. It reeked of vervain; oh _goody_.

"Wow," Caroline taunted. " _I'm_ convinced – are you, Mom?" She felt a moment of satisfaction as she saw her mother flinch, but the moment was fleeting as pain ripped through her thigh. Gilbert had thrust the stake into her leg. She gritted her teeth, not wanting to let the scream out, but then he ripped out the stake and thrust it into her stomach, and she could hold it in any longer.

" _Tell me what you know!_ " Gilbert screamed into her face, and Caroline barely suppressed the urge to laugh as she braced herself for the next strike. He didn't disappoint. This time the stake went into her shoulder and she screamed again. The pain was excruciating, the vervain slowing the healing process almost to standstill, she felt the veins around her eyes darken with her hunger as the blood loss took its toll and she felt the ache in her gums as her fangs descended. A sharp gasp came from her mother but Caroline ignored it, she had to concentrate on staying alive.

He pulled out the stake again and paused, obviously looking for a new target. She was already covered in her own blood, the scent a sickening reminder of what she craved, and then the stake went into her chest, just missing the heart, and Caroline tried to scream but he must have punctured a lung because it came out as a gasping cough.

"She can't tell us anything if she can't speak, John." They were the first words that had come out of her mother's mouth since she'd regained consciousness, but any hope Caroline had that it was out of concern died with her next. ""We should keep to the extremities until we have what we need and then put her out of her misery."

Gilbert nodded grimly, pulling out the stake again and turning yo look at her. "What do you-"

The door burst in, slamming into John Gilbert, and its heavy steel weight knocked him out instantaneously. Caroline blearily watched as her mother pulled her gun out, but her reflexes weren't fast enough to beat Klaus's. He reached out, and snapped her mother's wrist with a casualness that was frightening, and Caroline watched in panic as her mother screamed out in pain. No, this was not okay, not _okay_.

"No," she croaked, as Klaus reached down to finish the job.

Klaus's head cocked, and gave her a long look. "She was going to kill you," he said. "And she'll try again."

"She's my Mom." It was stupid, Caroline knew, to say that to someone like Klaus, but she had to try.

Surprisingly, there seemed to be an almost a glimmer of empathy in his eyes, but his voice was still grim. "There is going to come a day when you'll regret letting her live."

Caroline didn't know what to say to that, so she stayed silent, and he sighed as he straightened.

"Let's get you out of here," he muttered, as he ripped the ropes away, ignoring the sizzle of vervain. "Up you get." He wrapped an arm around her waste and helped her up, before helping her limp towards the door.

She didn't look at her mother. There wasn't a point anymore.

* * *

She spent nearly an hour in the shower, and Klaus wasn't sure if it because the hot water calmed her or because she didn't want to face him. She'd drank three blood bags before entering the bathroom, and Klaus had offered to grab her a more lively meal, but she just threw him a dirty look.

It was that look, more than anything, that told him she would be okay...eventually.

He shouldn't be here. The mess with the Sheriff and Gilbert had given away his presence in Mystic Falls, and he needed to move fast in order snatch up the last few pieces for the ritual – a certain Doppelganger, for one. He also needed to finish off Gilbert before he became a problem and, while he had promised not to hurt Caroline's mother, he had not extended the same courtesy to her mother's cohorts.

"His phone buzzed and Klaus looked at the text message that popped up. " **Gilbert has moved the Doppelganger girl to the Salvatore home. Sheriff and the Bennett witch with them. Also three *new*deputies. Alaric Salzman also present for a time but now gone."**

So the Sheriff had sworn in fresh, uncompelled Deputies, had she? A clever move. It was easy to see where Caroline got the brains from. All the same, it was the Bennett witch that was his biggest problem - but as he currently had three witches in town. It was safe to say, he still had the advantage. Add in the vampires Caroline brought into the fold, and a few of the locals as cannon fodder, and he felt safe in saying this was battle easily won – but the fact that they'd thought to move the Gilbert girl in the first place, meant that they must have some inking that he was going to do the ritual soon.

He heard the water being turned off and, ruefully, stayed where he was. The Lockwood boy was safely ensconced in the basement and, soon, he would to take back his Doppelganger, but first there was Caroline.

She was wrapped in towel, her hair still damp and clinging to her neck. He could see the marks of the healing wounds on her body. She looked drained and exhausted, and sad.

"You're still here?" she murmured.

Klaus cocked an eyebrow. So she _had_ been trying to avoid him. "Come here, love."

She crossed the room, dragging her feet, and Klaus pulled an errant damp lock from her face before kissing her carefully. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders, and pulled at his shirt to drag him closer, as the kiss became deeper and more insistent.

She pushed him back on the bed and stripped off his belt and, before he knew it, she was scrambling at the zipper of his trousers, her towel sliding off her as she straddled him. He felt her nimble fingers grab the base of his hardening cock and let out a ragged breath as she dipped down and took its head into her mouth. He arched up into her touch, feeling himself grow painfully hard under her ministrations, her tongue lingering on and stroking all the right places.

He was about to come in her mouth when she suddenly stopped, and he let out a low snarl of frustration, that she rewarded with s smug smile. Any thoughts of making her finish what she started died, however, when she guided him insider her and slowly sank down to the hilt.

She was tight but not as wet as she usually was, and Klaus had a funny feeling that this had very little to do with desire. Not that their fucking was about anything as simplistic as desire, but it was usually a part of the mix. He could see every mark the stake made on her body, and he wondered how she'd react if he kissed them. Not well, he suspected. There was almost fevered look in her eye and Klaus wondered how close she'd come to turning it off today.

Giving up control wasn't something he was comfortable with but he watched as her eyes drifted closed, her hand reaching down to stroke her clit as she rode him. Her breasts bobbed tantalisingly, and Klaus resisted the urge to lick or suckle on them as they pebbled with arousal. She was still tight, but it was now the slick quivering tightness of a woman about to fall over the edge. Her breath was becoming ragged and, not for the first time , Klaus wished he had fucked her while she was human, it would have been lovely to have seen that rosy pink flush on her skin as she came.

But she was not human, and fangs gleamed as her eyes fluttered open and stared at his throat hungrily. He tilted his head, giving her access, and she stuck, her fangs tearing into him with a viciousness he's never seen her display before. He held her tight, felt her quiver and come around him as she fed, and at last had his own release, spilling into her as she she moaned against his throat.

Why the hell had he agreed not to kill that bitch of a mother, he would feel so much better if he could. She had hurt his fiery little queen and nobody should be able to do that and live.

He would have to find another way of making her pay.

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it's been literally a year since I updated and this isn't even a particularly exciting chapter but I thought if I got *something* out, it might help me get over the epic writer's block hump I've been suffering from. Here's hoping! (And I hope you enjoy the chapter)

Klaus leaned back against the headrest and studied Caroline as she feigned sleep. Her damp hair had dried into its natural curls, creating a halo around her smooth face, and the marks left on her body by Gilbert's stake had already faded, thanks to his blood. Little Caroline Forbes, survivor, already plotting her next move.

On any other day, he would probably find Caroline's attempt to deceive him amusing, perhaps even a charming attempt to manipulate the situation in her favour, but now it was merely another obstacle to his goal. As long as Caroline believed her mother's life was more important than her own, she was a liability. He recognised that look in John's Gilbert's eyes, it was the fervour of a believer, and it was pulling Liz Forbes in its tow.

He felt the tension in Caroline's shoulders ease as she slowly drifted into a genuine slumber. She sighed softly, leaving a huff of breath trail against his skin as he lifted her arm and extricated himself. He stilled as her nose wrinkled in irritation, and waited for her breathing to slow again before he lifted his weight from the mattress.

Klaus dressed swiftly. He had let his...affection for Caroline cloud his judgement. He should have immediately removed the vervein from the Sheriff's house the moment he realised Caroline has reintroduced it into her diet. As a result, his plan probably was already irrevocably compromised. That could never happen again.

And yet he couldn't seem rid himself of her. He knew he should have disposed of her when she killed Greta, but there was something about they way she looked at him, chin up as she blatantly lied to him, that made him want to draw her close and into his bed instead. How Rebekah would mock him. How does it feel, Nik, to care for someone, even when you know they're going to betray you.

But enough of that. Turning his back on the bed, Klaus padded out of the room and descended the stairs, raising an eyebrow at Maddox, who stood at the bottom.

"The Bennett witch is strong but inexperienced," Maddox murmured softly. "And Stefan Salvatore has signed the deeds to the boarding house over to the doppelgänger."

"Of course he did," Klaus said, reluctantly admitting to himself that it was a good move. Stefan had always been clever; it was one of the things Klaus liked so much about him. For a moment, his mind lingered on those heady days, not so long ago, when he and Stefan were friends. Did Caroline know what Stefan was capable of? He doubted it. She may know the facts but he doubted understood what the word actually meant. You had to see it in order to truly understand.

Ripper.

Klaus lips curved up into a cold smile as Maddox to held up his coat. He shrugged into it. Was this not the perfect moment to catch up with an old friend? This might actually be fun and perhaps he could kill a few birds with one stone. If Caroline was reluctant to cut ties with her old life, then he had no choice but to dismantle that life for her. After all, it was for her own good.

_________________

Caroline's eyes blinked open the moment Klaus stepped out of the room. and she rolled onto her back. It would be so easy to give up, to let him have his own way. To stay curled up in the warmth of his bed and sleep this awful day away as he moved his pieces into play...

She shook her head. Giving up had never really been option, she wouldn't be able to live with herself afterwards.

She let her feet fall softly onto the floor, and she grabbed her phone as she dressed. Fooling Klaus into believing she's been asleep had been surprisingly easy but, then again, Caroline had always been a good actress.

The full moon was tonight and she didn't have enough time to come up with a plan C. She needed to find a weak spot in Klaus's plan and unravel it somehow. What she wouldn't do for some cue cards a few coloured markers and maybe a whiteboard right now...

Get a grip, Caroline, now is not the time spiral.

She took a deep breath. Perhaps she could still use some of her original plan. Feeding Katherine her Mom's vervein still seemed like a good idea. One, took the vampire needed for the ritual out of the equation and, two, her disappearance would lead Klaus to believe that Katherine was behind the scuttling of the ritual. Never let it be said that Caroline didn't know how to hold a grudge and she still hadn't forgiven Katherine for kidnapping Matt and using him to blackmail her.

The smile on Caroline's lips died as her mind fell on the one obvious flaw in her plan. She had lost access to her house and thus to her Mom's vervein supply. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if it had turned into vampire slayer central. Once again she was back at square one, and once again she had to choose a target – a moonstone, a doppelganger, a werewolf, or a vampire.

A vampire or a werewolf would be too easy to replace, so she had to either find the moonstone or hide Elena. She'd overheard enough of Klaus's conversation with Maddox to know she was with Stefan, but Caroline wasn't feeling suicidal to go toe to tow with Stefan and Bonnie.

And that only left the Moonstone. Where the hell would he hide it?

She stilled as the answer formed in her mind - of course, he would put it with all the other precious things he didn't want her anyone to know about. The same place he kept the special daggers, the same place he stashed his...brother. Would she be able to find it in time? Caroline scowled. A few days ago she would have been able to say yes. Her Mom used Caroline's birthday for every password she had. All she would have needed to do was stroll into the Sheriff's office, and submit a phone records request for Maddox's cellphone under her name.

But that ship had sailed. Caroline considered herself an optimist but she doubted her mother hadn't verveined everyone in the Sheriff's office the moment she learned there were vampires in town. She needed an ally, someone who had experience dealing with Klaus, and was clever and conniving, and had connections in the underworld and – dammit – she needed Katherine Pierce.

But without vervein as a bargaining chip, Caroline knew she may as well serve herself up on a platter at the ritual and be done with it. She needed an angle, something that Katherine wanted but only she could provide. An idea slowly creeped into her mind, causing her to shudder. Katherine was about as trustworthy as a snake, but if there was one thing Caroline was sure about, is that Katherine wanted to live – she just wished she didn't have to stake her life on the fact.

"I can't believe this is my life,"Caroline thought, as she took a steadying breath and stalked towards the basement.

_________________

All things considered, Klaus was little bit disappointed at how easily Stefan Salvatore was to manipulate. He somehow remembered him being somewhat smarter than this. It was almost amusing how earnest he was in his attack. Forehead lowered, stake clutched in hand. He had been right, this was just what the doctor had ordered. He neatly sidestepped as Stefan lunged, giving him a shove as he spun by and adding to his momentum. It landed him neatly on the bonnet of the vintage corvette in the driveway, leaving a sizeable dent.

"Now, now, Ripper, no cause for that. I'm just here to talk." Stefan pried himself upright and snarled at him, the veins around his eyes darkening, and Klaus tutted, allowing a smirk to form on his lips. So far, this little interlude was going perfectly. He bent down to pick up the stake Stefan had dropped and tapped it against the palm of his hand.

"Nice stake, perfectly sharpened, but unfortunately for you also rather useless. I'm no ordinary vampire, Ripper, I can't be killed with this." With a flick of the wrist, Klaus sent the stake flying through the air, his grin widening as it embedded itself a mere fraction from Stefan's heart. He didn't want to kill the boy after all. He was rather entertaining when he wasn't wearing his heart on his sleeve...and there was also the small matter of a dead Salvatore not being as good a lure as a live one.

He could hear the doppelgänger and with squabbling in the hallway over who had the better reason to martyr themselves. It seemed that the Bennett witch was winning the argument, not that it mattered, he's already rigged the outcome.

"He needs me alive," Elena argued. "I can bargain with him."

"Have you seen that monster move?" Bonnie hissed. "He'd have you bundled in his trunk before you even had a moment to open your mouth. Leave this to me, I can buy a few moments for Stefan to escape."

"What have you done with my brother?" Stefan spat out, as he pulled the stake loose and staggered to his feet."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Stefan, Stefan, have you still not figured it out? What would I kill your brother?"

Stefan stilled. "Kill?"

Klaus's smile became sharklike. "Oh, I'm sorry, you actually thought he was still alive? I'd have thought the Bennett witch would have found his remains by now."

And that was when the witch hit.

_________________

The smell of old blood still pervaded the basement, despite the liberal use of chlorine Klaus's lackeys used to clean it up. The scents blended into a stomach churning acrid stink. The grey light of early morning barely lit the room through the high basement windows and Caroline halted at the bottom step. She had seen what a cornered Katherine was capable was of, she didn't want to accidentally set off Klaus's compulsion. She snapped on the light, more for comfort than need. It didn't really improve the vista.

Tyler looked a mess. He was slouched forward in his chains, his head slumped on his chest. He was clearly unconscious. She turned to look at Katherine, who was watching her through slitted eyes. Her skin was desiccating again, her lips grey, the colour of her skin pallid. "Your lover boy had been busy," she croaked, noting Caroline's quirked eyebrow.

"He's not my lov-" Caroline mouth snapped closed when she realised that wasn't technically true. Just because Caroline didn't view Klaus that way didn't erase the reality of her situation.

Katherine's lips curled up. "Don't feel bad," she said. "He's an original. They're kind of difficult to shake loose."

"I didn't come here to talk about Klaus, I came here to discuss stopping him."

Katherine resettled herself in her chains. "You have the vervein," she said. "I hope you brought blood too. I'm too weak to drink it neat."

"Uh, yeah, about that," Caroline muttered. "The whole vervein and blood combo? Not really going to be an issue."

Apparently, Katherine could even sigh cynically. "Oh. Do tell."

Caroline bit her lip and arched her throat. For a moment, Katherine looked blankly at her, and then realisation hit.

Her broken laughter pealed through the house.

If there was one thing you could say about Bennett witches, it was that they never pulled their punches. He hadn't felt a sting this pointed in at least a couple of centuries.. He let out a low laugh of appreciation as he fell to his knees. It was too late to reel this one in, her loyalties clearly lay elsewhere, but he'd keep an eye on her line. In a few generations, her descendants will have dropped their guard and he'll swoop in to pluck a harvest.

"Stefan, get in the house," the witch said, through gritted teeth, but then predictably ignored her.

"Where is my brother?"

Klaus rolled his eyes towards the witch. "Why are you asking me? He wore a Bennett ring, did he not, ask the Bennett witch."

Stefan's head swerved. "Bonnie?"

"Stefan, not now, get inside."

And once again, Stefan ignored her. Klaus almost felt sorry for the witch. It must be a real hardship to keep someone so painfully self involved alive. He watched Stefan stagger towards him, the stake in his hand.

"Tell me where my brother is," he repeated, as he kicked Klaus's shoulder, sending him onto his back. "Or I will kill you."

Klaus eyed the stake and contemplated fighting though the witch's spell. Stefan could kill him, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. But the point was never to win this fight, the point was to draw them away from his prey, and they had obliged perfectly,

"Oh Stefan, Stefan, you were never very good at seeing what was before your eyes," he drawled. "I think it may be due to – what is the current phrase – too much naval gazing?"

"Stefan." The witch's voice held a warning note now, and Klaus's head turned to see her nose bleed. The vulnerability of a witch without a coven, they couldn't perform larger spells over longer periods of time. The pain in his head eased and Klaus sprung to his feet, crushing Stefan's hand around the stake before sending him flying back into the witch.

It was hard to suppress the feeling of glee as he spotted Maddox waiting for him in SUV He jumped into the passenger seat, and looked over his shoulder. The doppelgänger slept peacefully in the back seat.

_________________

The last straw were the tears of laughter shining in Katherine's eyes as she crowed with laughter.

"Stop it, we don't have time for this," she said, barely resisting the urge to stomp her feet. What was it about Katherine that always left her feeling like a child?

"I'm sorry," Katherine said. "It's just that I never knew felt like that about me."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Can we not? I don' know where Klaus is gone but I can guarantee he'll be back soon.. As I'm sure Tyler here can tell you, tonight is the night of the full moon."

Katherine's face sobered, but there was still a glint of humour in her eye. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Do tell."

"Well, you're over there and I'm over here, and last time I checked there needed to be actual bodily contact for me to feed on you."

A feeling of unease sank heavily in Caroline's gut. "Just remember, for this to work, Klaus needs to not find my exsanguinated corpse on the floor when he gets back.

"But of course," Katherine purred, in a tone that didn't make Caroline feel in anyway safer. Sighing, he mentally put on her big girls panties and stepped down into the basement, slowly crossing the floor. She hesitated as she reached the point of no return, the reach of Katherine's chains, and then took another step forward.

The older vampire sped forward, grasping her tightly as she sank her fangs into her neck. She shuddered for a moment, in a way that Caroline felt was uncomfortably intimate, and then began to feed in earnest. They sank to the floor together, Caroline feeling the loss of blood in the heavy weight of her bones. Her vision began to blur and she realised she was about to lose consciousness.

"Katherine, stop..."

Katherine' pulled her head back, her eyes gleaming. "And what will you do if I didn't stop? What if I drained you dry and then ripped your heart out,"

"Then Klaus will find my corpse here when he arrives and you will die horribly, sacrificed to a ritual you've been trying to outrun for five centuries," Caroline gasped out.

For a breath, and then another, Katherine's grip just tightened and Caroline wondered if she'd made a terrible, terrible mistake and she was going to be ripped apart like Katherine's other victims. Desiccation can bring out the worst in a vampire – combine it with the side effects of vervein, and Katherine might not be thinking too clearly.

Katherine let out a low, hoarse laugh, her eyes gleaming wickedly as her her grip eased. She let Caroline roll away from her. "You really should learn to school your face," she said. "I can almost taste your fear. Run along, little girl, I doubt we'll meet again. We both know you're going to get yourself killed tonight."

Blinking back tears, Caroline staggered to her feet and raised her chin. "You'd better hope not, because if I die, so do you. You're not the only one who made contingencies."

Katherine quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Caroline felt her hands ball into fists, resisting the urge to just kill the bitch and be done with it. It wasn't as if she didn't deserve it...with a shiver, she tamped the temptation down. She had lost a lot of blood and was hungry, it always made her a bit tetchy. "Klaus has Elijah stashed away nearby where would he be?"

A glimmer of interest glowed in Katherine's eyes but swiftly dimmed. "Don't let the tailoring fool you, Caroline, Elijah is just as dangerous as Klaus, and equally as treacherous."

"I'm not looking for an alliance, I'm looking to buy some time. Klaus and Elijah obviously have some weird family feud going on. If I let him loose, Klaus might back down and wait for another full moon," Caroline said, exasperated.

"As I said, you're going to get yourself killed," Katherine said. "But as it seems I cannot dissuade you from this foolishness... I may know where he keeps him hidden.

Caroline smiled widely and whipped out her phone. "Address?"


	12. Chapter 12

It didn't take Caroline long to hunt down the keys for the solitary SUV left in Klaus's garage. All the other vehicles were gone, and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of Machiavellian tricks Klaus had them performing right now. She dropped that train of thought quickly as it wasn't helping, and shoved the cooler onto the spare seat before starting the engine. She'd already had three blood bags but still felt a little shaky on her feet.

She programmed the address Katherine had given to her into the GPS and backed out of the garage, speeding down the driveway and onto the road. She had no idea when Klaus would be back and she wanted to be well outside the town limits before he figured out she wasn't at the mansion. She crossed the bridge a few minutes later and pulled over. There was one more thing she needed to do before she was on her way.

She pulled out her smartphone and scrolled down her screen until she found the find my phone app. Truth was, she had deactivated it days ago. She hadn't wanted her Mom or Elena doing something stupid and come looking for her if Klaus suddenly decided that he was going to lock her up or kill her or something. Now of course, her Mom might use it to track her down to kill, which was more than a little ironic. She turned it on and crossed her fingers, hoping against hope that her Mom was doing something normal and mundane like sitting behind her desk at the Sheriff's office.

She frowned as Liz Forbes' icon blinked to life at the Salvatore's. Had her Mom figured out Stefan was a vampire and, if so, should she warn Stefan about her mother's 'kill all the vampires' kick? Maybe she was there for a totally different reason...and why can she see Bonnie's icon at the guesthouse but Elena's? She wished she had some way of tracking John Gilbert. Maybe Elena was with him and he had made her turn off her phone. It's be just the kind of sneaky underhanded thing he'd do.

She wished he'd told Bonnie and her Mom to do the same.

Deactivating the app, she tossed her phone onto the dash and started the engine again. She needed to make a move if she hoped to make it there before Klaus started the ritual.

\-----------------------

Klaus knew something was wrong the moment he stepped into the basement, the metallic taste of blood lingered in the air, taunting his senses. He blurred across the room, slamming her against the wall as the chains rattled in protest. Was it his imagination or did she look a little less drained? He leaned in close and inhaled. It was a scent he recognised intimately – Caroline's blood. He smiled and tugged Katherine's chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"What did you do to Caroline?"

"I stopped her freeing Tyler, that's all." Katherine forced the words out between her teeth. "Things got a bit...messy but she made it to steps."

"You hurt her?" Klaus asked, trying to keep his voice light, but there was still a glimmer of interest in Katherine's eyes. It was a good thing she was marked to die.

"I did what you compelled me to do. I stopped her from taking Tyler from this room," she reminded him. "It was only a scratch, and not as deadly as what could have happened to her if the Lockwood boy had awoken from whatever stupour he's in...tell me, is a werewolf bit as deadly when they're in human form? Of course, it's a full moon tonight, so there was an even chance he could have transformed-"

"Enough," grunted Klaus, letting her chin go. "Tie the Doppelgänger up," he said to Maddox as he headed upstairs, his mind reeling as he reviewed the compulsion he'd laid upon Caroline. To spy on her friends, to tell him the truth and tell them nothing...he'd definitely not been comprehensive enough, when he'd compelled her, perhaps he should rectify that when the vervein had worn off.

Try as he might, though, he couldn't shake off the instinct that he was missing something. He turned to glare at Maddox irritably when he emerged from the basement door, and the witch shrank back before he remembered himself and straightened. That's right, witch, don't show weakness in front the big bad wolf. Klaus smiled grimly.

"Any news from the ritual site," he asked.

"The area has been secured," Maddox said, with an attempt at studied boredom. "All we need to do is shift the ritual elements and sacrifices into place and we shall be ready."

"Very good," Klaus said. "Ready the SUV, we shall make out way to my other-"

The glass in the rose circle window above the main entrance smashed, and Klaus' eyes widened as he registered the grenade flying though the air. He dove across the room, and slammed Maddox to the ground, covering him. Vervein and shards of wood riddled his back. Painful, but not life threatening. He needed Maddox intact, along with his familiarity with ritual, if he was going to shed his shackles tonight.

The basement," he snarled, shoving a dazed Maddox towards the door as he got to his feet just in time to watch the door blow inward. John Gilbert stalked into the room, a loaded crossbow in his hand and Liz Forbes at his shoulder.

"You have my daughter," he snarled. "I want her back."

Klaus let out a short bark of laughter. "Sorry, finders keepers and all that," he said, snidely. "Hello, Liz, no demands for the return of you daughter too? No, I suppose not. According to the Council's teachings, she's pretty much damages goods now." A flicker of pain ran through the Sheriff's eyes but Klaus just bared his teeth at her contemptuously. Gilbert fired the crossbow at him and he batted the stake away before it hit it's target. He watched their eyes widen in disbelief.

"Let me guess," he drawled. "You actually thought that incremental amount of vervein in that grenade would actually slow me down-"

The Sheriff opened fire, and Klaus felt the vervein soaked bullets soak through his chest, one piercing his heart. He staggered to his knees, watching his hands grey as the world began to fade. Footsteps impinged on his senses and the world swan into focus long enough for Klaus to see John Gilbert glowering down at him. "Not so powerful after all," he said.

The Sheriff's voice was impatient. "God damn it, John, stop crowing over the dead vampire and help me with this door."

Klaus closed his eyes.

\-----------------------

Caroline was surprised by what she found when she pulled up the driveway. The house was long and low, with no second story, and set out in a square around an enclosed courtyard. At least it wasn't another mansion, even the thought of finding the moonstone in a house with a bajillion bedrooms made Caroline feel tired.

She tilted her head, listening for the telltale sound of footsteps or breathing. Nothing was moving around. She wasn't surprised. She doubted Klaus told many people this house even existed. She would have called Klaus' paranoia unhealthy if she hadn't spent a good part of the last month wading through body parts.

She broke the lock on the front door with ease and cautiously took a step over the threshold; no barrier. She let out the breath she didn't realised she was holding and stepped into the dark coolness of the foyer. A quick reconnaissance first and then she's get down to the dirty business of moonstone and dagger searching.

The first room to the left was the drawing room, followed by the study, and the a room that Caroline thought might have originally been the dining room...except now, instead of a dining table, there was a row of coffins.

Of course, what else would she expect to find in the diningroom of an ancient vampire?

"Just when I thought he couldn't get any creepier," she muttered under her breath as she slip into the room. The curtains were closed tightly, the air stifling and still, and Caroline edged around the room, fumbled for the fabric, as she kept her eyes glued on the boxes. Dust motes spun through the air as she succeeded in dragging a curtain back and Caroline felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. It was silly, she knew; but a bit of sunlight always made her feel better.

Slowly, she crept towards the nearest one. It looked old, like really old, and something told her that this wasn't Klaus's kooky hiding place for the family silver. Funny, she had thought the whole vampire-in-a-coffin thing was a myth. Maybe it was something only the really old vampires were into.

God, this was so stupid.

Squaring her shoulders, Caroline stalked towards the nearest coffin and grabbed the lid. It didn't budge. Scowling now, Caroline tried to curl her fingers around the corner of the lid and pry it open; still nothing.

"For the greater good," Caroline muttered under her breath, but still felt a pang of guilt as she brought her fist down on the coffin with the full force of her vampiric strength – only to yelp a moment later as her knuckles broke. Nursing her hand against her chest, she waited for the bone to mend as she backed away from the coffin. It had to be magically sealed. Were they all?

She moved to the next coffin and tried the lid, it slid to the side easily. Inside was an attractive, youthful looking man, with a dimpled chin that Caroline was beginning to suspect was a family trait. His face was greyed with the vampire death and in his chest was a dagger. Seriously? How many of his family did Klaus keep boxed up in storage?

"More than one, less than five," Caroline muttered under her breath as she tried the next coffin. Inside, there was a fair haired girl that looked about her age, with the trademark Mikaelson chin and dagger in her chest. One thing was for sure, they were a ridiculously pretty family.

"Caroline, Caroline, what strange company you keep."

Caroline's head jerked up. "Stefan?"

He stepped into room, a small smile lingering on his lips, and a dead look in his eyes that caused a shiver of fear to run up her spine. Something was very, very wrong. The skin rippled red on her hand and burst in the flame. She stumbled back into the coffin to behind her, sending the Mikaelson inside spilling to the floor. She leapt over him and dragged the curtain closed, biting down the whimper of agony that rose to her lips.

"Guess what, Caroline, I figured it out, Stefan said, as he stalked into the room. Caroline saw a shadow move behind him and then Bonnie stepped into the doorway, a grim expression on her face, a feeling of dark foreboding ran through her. The good witch giveth the Daylight ring and the good witch taketh away.

"Stefan, it's not what you-"

"Shut up Caroline, I don't want to hear it," The was a coldness to Stefan's voice that Caroline had never heard before. "I had Bonnie do a different kind of location spell. It seems once a Bennett Daylight ring, always a Bennett Daylight ring." He blurred across the room, pushing her into the wall, his arms caging her in.

"Your scent was all over his body, Caroline," he said softly, whispering into her ear, causing the hair on the back of her neck to rise. "It even clung to his dried out heart. Why is that?"

"He was trying to kill me," Caroline protested. "I got lucky. Otherwise it'd would've been me in that grave."

"I don't believe you," Stefan said, as he shoved her toward the curtains.

"No, Stefan, please."

"Sorry, Caroline, time to die."

Caroline's eyes darted over his shoulder. "Please, Bonnie, you have to believe me. Damon tried to kill me. It was self defense- aahhh!

With a rip of cloth, Stefan pulled down the curtain, and Caroline was engulfed in flames. Stefan let go, driven back by the heat and Caroline blurred through the room, barely registering Bonnie dive out of the way as she fled the room. She dove into the study and rolled around on the rug to put the flames out. It looked like a really old and valuable rug. Klaus was going to be furious.

"There's nowhere to run, Caroline," Stefan's voice called out. "You're trapped in this house with no daylight ring and I'm going to find you."

Caroline let out a pained laugh - and she thought her life couldn't get any worse. "Bonnie," she called out, as she staggered to her feet and looked for a weapon. "I know why he is doing this, but you? You know what Damon was like. You know what he did to Vicki, and just about every other human female he's got his claws into. Why are you helping him?"

"For Elena," Bonnie called out grimly. "I have to stop you."

Caroline frowned. Stop her doing what? She rounded the desk, and upended the chair, ripping off a leg. One improvised stake, check. Of course there was also the not so handy downside. Stefan had been the one who train her and so knew all her moves. Her eyes scanned the room. This was Klaus's place; paranoid, murder happy Klaus. There had to something better than a broken chair leg in this room to use. She kicked herself for dropping her bag when she went up in flames. What she wouldn't do for Mom's modified automatic with the wooden bullets right now. She braced herself for battle, wishing she didn't smell so much like smoke and burnt meat. It was a bit revolting, to be honest.

There was the sound of scuffling and what sounded like Bonnie muttering something in not-latin, but then nothing. Straightening, Caroline sighed, not that she was complaining, but what was taking Stefan so long to find her?. It wasn't as if she's been stealthy when she'd barrelled her way in here.

There was a low scream and Caroline tensed. It sounded like Bonnie and her legs were moving before her brain caught up. Right, Bonnie was trying to kill her, this could be trap. Footsteps creaked in the hallway and Caroline leapt back just in time to not get smacked in the face by the door.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? A damsel in distress?" said the figure that stepped into the room. Caroline gulped, as she realised what had happened. She had accidentally woken an original – the wrong original.

"Well, girl, are you at least going to tell me you name?" he purred.

"Uh...Caroline, Caroline Forbes" she said, dropping the stake in her hand as she realised how utterly useless it was. His eyes followed its trajectory before blinding her with a wide smile.

"I see you're somewhat more knowledgeable than your compatriots," he said. Something must have shown in her eyes because he added. "No? Enemies then?"

"More like...complicated," Caroline muttered.

"Isn't it always," he said, stepping forward to grab her hand. She flinched but he just smiled and raised it to lips, the kiss was barely there and cool on his skin. "Kol Mikaelson, at your service."

\-----------------------

It was the concussion wave of an ordinary artillery grenade that jerked Klaus to consciousness. His ears were ringing but his eyes focused almost immediately. Plaster drifted down from the ceiling and he did a swift calculation of the damage as he slowly turned his head. The Sheriff and Gilbert had their back to him and had obviously just found out the hard way that the teak panelling of the basement door, had hidden a steel reinforced frame. When you build a holding cage for supernaturals you don't pen them in with inferior materials.

"We could use C4," Gilbert muttered.

The Sheriff gave him a wry look. "Not without figuring out where the load bearing wall is first," she said. "Unless you want to accidentally bury your daughter under a ton of concrete?"

Well at least Klaus knew where Caroline got her inclination towards sarcasm from. Silently, he rose to his feet, took a breath, and then gave a polite cough. They whirled on their feet and the look of shock and disbelief of their faces was most gratifying.

"Surprise," he said. "Not dead." He blurred, snapping Gilbert's neck before he swung the crossbow up to aim, and snagged the gun out of the Sheriff's hand.

She took a step back, her eyes darting around the room bfeore landing back on him warily. "Why am I still alive?" she asked.

He gave her a humourless smile. "Because I promised you daughter I wouldn't kill you," he said. "Unfortunately for you, while I fully intend to respect the letter of that promise, I'm going to disregard the spirit of it." Her eyes widened with comprehension as he bit into his wrist.

"No, please, I'd rather die," she said.

"Not an option." She gagged as he forced his wrist against her mouth but, in the end, he won the battle of wills as he pushed her head back and the blood trickled down her throat. Their eyes met, hers large with terror.

"You'll grow used to it," he said lightly. "Maybe even like it. Your daughter did." He snapped her neck.

\-----------------------

It was like a switch had flipped. One moment he was a suave ancient original kissing the back of her hand, the next he was a mischievous kid pulling her out of the room.."Come along," \he said. "Lets have a little conversation in the other room."

Caroline dug her heels in. "My Daylight ring, it doesn't work anymore," she said.

"Ah, one of your complications?" he asked. "Well, soonest solved. Wait here." He flickered and disappeared, and Caroline took in a querulous breath, as he heard the Original baiting Stefan in the other room. There was no reply, which either meant Stefan was giving Kol the silent treatment – probably not the best course of action – or he was gagged. Caroline was betting on the latter. She turned to look at the study once more, hoping to find an avenue of escape she had missed, but to no avail. All her planning and it had come to nothing. No Elijah, no moonstone, all she had was Katherine, which were mighty slim odds. She was doomed.

Stumbling footsteps rattled down the hall, and Caroline turned to see Bonnie, bound and gagged, stagger into the room. Her eyes glittered accusations as she came to a stop. Kol came bounding in behind her, Stefan thrown over shoulder. He looked around ad then dumped him on the burnt rug.

"First things first," he said cheerily, pulling Bonnie's gag down. "Fix her ring."

"And if I don't?" Bonnie said.

"Well then, I'll rip the ring off your friend here and thrown him into the courtyard under the noonday sun."

Caroline hadn't thought Bonnie's glare could get hotter, but apparently she was wrong. Kol reeled back, wincing as he cradled his head. "Well, that's rude," he said, and then spun around and snapped Stefan's neck.

"No!" Bonnie cried out as he reached for Stefan's ring finger.

"Do it," he said flatly. "Or the pretty boy goes up in flames."

Muttering something incomprehensible under her breath, Bonnie glared at her and said."It's done."

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Kol said, rising to his feet. He crossed the room and tugged the curtain back. Caroline flinched but didn't go up in flames. The ring was working again. She eyed the Original warily. Why was he being so nice to her? What was his agenda?

He threw himself onto the chaise lounge, the cheeky smile belying the calculation in his eyes. With his hair tied back in a ribbon and the antique clothing, he looked like something that had escaped from a historical romance novel. Of course, nobody knew better than Caroline that under that pretty façade lay something more in line with a Gothic horror.

"It's rather obvious that these two have no clue as to who or what I am," he said. "But you knew exactly what I was the moment you saw me." Ah, so that's why he was being so nice to her. He thought she was the one with answers...something told her she didn't want to know what his plan B was.

"There's a strong family resemblance," she blurted out.

He raised an eyebrow. "To Klaus?"

"To Elijah," she admitted.

He nodded at that. "What year is it?

"Uh, 2010?"

He groaned. "Over a century? Really, Nik?" He leaned forward. "So tell me what has he been up to?" And just like that, Klaus's compulsion slammed down on her,closing her throat. Silently, she shook her head and his eyes narrowed as he leaned forward and examined her.

"He's compelled you," he said succinctly.

She nodded.

"How comprehensive is it?"

She rolled her eyes in the direction of Stefan and Bonnie, and Kol grunted.

"Not ideal," he said. "But perhaps I can use you as bait."

Caroline shoulder's slumped. This was obviously his plan B.

"A vampire can't be compelled by another vampire" Bonnie said coldly. "I don't know what games you two are playing but it's not going to work."

"Bonnie, don't" Caroline started as she saw the glint in Kol's eyes..

"Shut up, Caroline, I don't want to hear another word from you ever again," Bonnie spat out, rage practically seeping out of her pores.

Stefan groaned, his eyes fluttering open, and Caroline just knew that things were going to get ugly really quickly.

"You should really have listened to your friend, little witch," How said. "No I feel compelled to give a demonstration...get it?" He dragged Stefan to his feet, pulling the gag from his mouth and then ripping his hands free from their bindings. Their eyes met, and Caroline tensed as she saw Stefan's face go slack.

"Kill the witch."

Caroline moved in tandem to the compulsion, throwing herself into the path of Stefan's trajectory as he lunged for Bonnie. His speed knocked the wind out of her but she managed to pull him off course and into one of the bookcases lining the wall. A mountain of first editions fell on top of them and Caroline eyes searched the floor until she found what she was looking for. She darted for her improvised stake as Stake as Stefan foundered on his feet, shaking his head like a confused bull. He was trying to shake off the compulsion but Caroline knew from experience it was futile. Kol laughed mockingly as Stefan staggered towards the witch, his eyes wild, and clapped his hands as Caroline leaped onto his back and pulled him to the floor again. The stake pinned him to the floorboards, inches from his heart.

"Make it stop," she said, glaring at the Original.

"Why would I, when I find it all so entertaining," he said. Caroline looked at Bonnie, wondering what her odds were of getting her friend out of the house alive. Not good, she imagines. She twisted to glare at the original.

"What is it you want?" she asked.

His shoulder's shrugged. "A bit of entertainment, a warm blooded meal, the last century back." His face morphed into something cold and menacing. "I guess I'll have to settle for two out of three."

A draught flew through the room and Kol was no longer sitting, but dangling from his snapped neck. It was Klaus, covered in plaster dust and stinking of vervein, and looking utterly pissed. His head swerved to glare at her.

"You've been busy."

Caroline let out a small, nervous laugh. "You know how it is."

Maddox stepped into the room and eyed the mess before stepping over to the desk and pulling out a drawer. Caroline watched in disbelief as he pocketed the moonstone. He kept in his his desk drawer?

Klaus followed her eyes and let out a snort of laughter. "Ah, so that's why you came here. A last ditch attempt to save your friend's life."

Caroline shrugged her shoulders. "You can't blame a girl."

"Actually, I think you'll find that I can blame you, my little quisling." Klaus said. He eyed Stefan, who was groaning on the ground, and Caroline leaned down and snapped his neck before he got any ideas about getting back onto his feet and killing Bonnie. Klaus's eyebrows rose with enquiry but Caroline ignored it.

"Let me guess, you found me with a tracking spell," she said, changing the subject.

"It's the 21st century," Klaus said. "The SUV is lowjacked."

"Of course it is," Caroline muttered. She should have thought of that. She glanced at Bonnie, whose face was a mixture of terror and incomprehension. "I don't suppose you could let Bonnie go?" she asked aloud.

"Too late for that, love," Klaus said. "All things considered, you should consider yourself lucky that I value loyalty – even when I feel it's misplaced." He stalked out of the room, Kol thrown over his shoulder. Caroline almost felt sorry for the younger Original It can't be fun, mouldering away in a coffin forever.

"I don't know why you're still alive," Maddox muttered glaring at her. "He's killed for a lot less."

"Haven't you heard?" Caroline asked dully. "I'm lucky"


	13. Chapter 13

The silence in the SUV on the drive back to Mystic Falls was almost palpable. Bonnie sat hunched against the car door, glaring out at the passing trees, while Maddox and Klaus sat in the front. Caroline knew that being relegated to the back seat, beside Bonnie, was only the start of whatever punishment Klaus had cooked had cooked up for him.

She heard a movement from the trunk and surmised Stefan had awoken from his extended nap, despite being dosed up to the eyeballs with vervein. Klaus obviously had access to a vervein stash he hadn't told her about.

Maddox's eyes were glued to the screen on her phone, no doubt checking in on the other minions to see if the ritual site was ready. Sunset would be in about two hours and Caroline's mind was already scrambling for a plan C.

"Home sweet home," Klaus said as they pulled into the driveway, and there was something about the cheeriness in his tone that set her teeth on edge. She glanced over to Bonnie but she was still refusing to look at her.

Reluctantly, Caroline stepped out of the SUV and Maddox made a beeline for the other passenger door, opening it for Bonnie. It wasn't a courtesy, Maddox had appointed himself her personal watchdog, waiting for a reason to pounce.

She trailed behind Klaus as he dragged an exhausted Stefan out of the trunk and inside. The Foyer looked like a disaster zone, and Caroline eyed the men cleaning up the debris. Theywere definitely human and, from the blank look in their eyes, compelled. Maddox stood by the basement door, a heavy hand on Bonnie's shoulder, and she tried to discreetly head for the stairs, taking a few tentative steps.

"Ah, ah,  _ah,_ " Klaus called out to her as he reached for the doorknob. "I have a surprise for you, sweetheart, come along."

Caroline's thoughts whirled. Had he somehow managed to get the truth out of Katherine despite the vervein, or had the vampire just plain betrayed her, thinking she could get a better deal from Klaus. Here eyes flitted over to Bonnie, who was frowning thoughtfully. She swallowed, but it didn't help to ease her suddenly parched throat. She was pretty sure Klaus wasn't going to kill her, but there were worse things than dying and she was pretty sure he had an encyclopedic knowledge of all of them.

She eyed him warily as he stepped aside and gestured for her to go first. This was not going to be good.

* * *

Caroline needed to be taught a lesson. A harsh lesson, es, but it was for her own good. Klaus had witnessed how magnificent she could be when she spread her wings. This town, these people, were too small for her; cattle to be herded and led to the slaughter. She was meant for more than that and he could show her the way – but first she had to learn that she could not arbitrarily play both sides against the middle.

The strained tension in her shoulders was noticeableas she descended the stairs. Caroline was bright enough to know he had something in store for her. She was about to learn that doing the  _right_ thing didn't always work in her favour and this time it was going to be  _her_ that played the part of the bad guy.

He watched as she stumbled to a halt at the foot of the steps, her eyes taking both Elena and her Mother, before she blurred to her Mother's side. Klaus filed that away in her mind, knowing that Caroline would prioritise her mother over Elena, despite what she's done,might be something he could use in his favour.

The Sheriff was conscious but not in good shape, as she hadn't completed the transition yet. He noted the way she flinched from her daughter's touch, but Caroline's grip just tightened as she turned to look at Klaus accusingly.

"You promised me you wouldn't hurt her!"

"Actually, I promised you I wouldn't kill her," Klaus contradicted. "And we both know how handy you are at parsing promises, so perhaps now would not be the best time for you to fling accusations." He nodded at Maddox who began to chain Bonnie to the wall.

"What's wrong with her?" Caroline asked. "She's feverish and her heartbeat is all over the place."

"Yes...probably because she hasn't fed yet," Klaus drawled, as he chained Stefan up beside Elena. His little improvised dungeon was becoming quite crowded, perhaps he should think of expansion.

He watched the changing expression on Caroline's face out of the corner of his eye as she put the pieces together. "She's transitioning," she breathed. "Why would you  _do_  that?"

"Why?" Klaus echoed. "Because she came to my home and tried to kill me. I couldn't exactly leave that go unpunished now, could I?"

"But why turn her. You could have just waited until the vervein was out of her system and compelled to forget you, you didn't have to-"

I don't think you understand, love," Klaus interrupted. "She tried to kill me and she tried to kill you. I had no interest in sparing her tender sensibilities. This way, I get to win, no matter what she chooses. She's either dead or a vampire, and no longer on their side of the divide."

"Choose?" Caroline asked, giving her Mother a searching look. She looked away. "No, Mom,  _no_. You have to live. I know you've been brought up to believe all vampires are evil but-"

"Caroline, it's not your choice, it's mine," the Sheriff said harshly, and Klaus felt a moment of triumph.

"Actually, it's not" he said softly. "You have the power here, Caroline, not your Mother. She only has a choice if you let her have one." He watched as Liz Forbes recoiled from her daughter and suppressed a smile as he saw both doubt and calculation in Caroline's eyes.

"Caroline, please," her Mother pleaded. "I don't want to become a monster."

Now it was Caroline's turn to pull away, and Klaus watched in satisfaction as her face grew colder. The Sheriff had made a miscalculation. Caroline had become used to her power, revelled in it. She  _liked_  being a vampire.

"You don't know anything about monsters, Mom. Stefan and Damon have been pulling the wool over your eyes for nearly a year, and while Stefan controls himself – most of the time - Damon...well, lets just say you don't want to know what he did to me when you weren't looking. Good thing I killed him, huh?"

Klaus looked at her, seeing the moment of realisation and capitulation happen and, fascinated, he watched the new Caroline metamorphose in front of him. She was hurt, and lashing out, and she'd probably regret it when she cooled down but Klaus knew, without a shadow of doubt, that Liz Forbes was going to turn today, whether she liked it or not.

"Maddox, get a blood bag from the fridge," he said quietly, and the witch slid up the stairs like a shadow.

* * *

In the end it was an easy choice to make. Caroline finally understood who she was now. Some things from her past still mattered, of course - friendships and family, for instance - but even those could change in a moment. After all, Bonnie tried to kill her today, her mother had tried to kill her yesterday, neither of them had even hesitated.

She knew her Mom didn't want to become a vampire. It was human and understandable, but Caroline couldn't let her die. She saw the fear in her eyes, the soundless, shuddering shake of her head as Caroline took the blood bag from Maddox's hand and tore it open. She noted, almost detachedly, how the dark veins rose around around her Mother's eyes when the scent of blood hit the air, and her newborn fangs stretched from her gums and then, with not even a sliver of a doubt, she stepped forward and grabbed her mother 's jaw and poured the blood down her throat, even as she tried to pull away. Distantly, she realised Bonnie and Elena were crying but this wasn't  _their_  Mother, they didn't get to have an opinion, not anymore.

It was only when she felt the gentle pressure of Klaus's hand on the small of her back that she realised she had crossed a line. The scariest part was that she didn't even feel sorry. Not even a little bit. It felt good to do what she really wanted instead of what people expected of her. A small part of her knew that this should worry her.

Silently, she let Klaus steer her towards the steps and they rose through the house together. Caroline wasn't fooled by Klaus' quiet demeanour, she knew from experience that was when he was this quiet, he was at his most dangerous.

The lesson wasn't over and, when he led her into the bedroom, Caroline had a pretty good idea what form the lesson would take. The one constant in their relationship was sex. He desired her and she desired him.

She noticed that the mirrors had been installed while she had been out and a unexpected feeling of dread ran through her. What had originally seemed like a harmless bit of fun and manipulation now gave the room a sense of foreboding. If was done tastefully, of course. One mirror was discreetly flushed against the ceiling, over the bed, and the other stood in a simple brass frame, its weight supported by a brace of little ball wheels at the base.

Currently it faced the bottom of the bed and Caroline tried to avoid stepping in its path as she moved towards the bathroom. Klaus had other plans. He led her to stand in front of the mirror, smiling as she avoided looking at their reflection.

"Caroline, Caroline." He stroked a soft knuckle down her cheek and Caroline braced herself. "Do you know what happens now?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," Caroline said shakily as his fingers unfurled and ghosted along her neck, dipping into hollow of her throat

He tilted his head, the calculation in his eyes never dimming as he licked his lips contemplatively. She felt her body react, her breasts pebbling, as his hand skimmed over her shoulder and down her spine, It fell away before it reached what was usually his favourite bit of her anatomy – her ass.

"Your dress is in tatters," he said quietly, stepping back. "Take it off. " He sat on the end of the bed and casually unbuttoned his jeans and Caroline looked at him uncertainly as he pulled his cock out and idly began to stroke himself.

"I'm waiting, Caroline," he said, watching her through lidded eyes. "I want to see all of you."

Damn him,  _damn_ him. How the hell did he always manage to turn the tables on her? She was supposed to be angry, not turned on. On impulse, she turned her back to him and immediately realised her mistake as she shimmied the ruined dress over her hips. Klaus's eyes gleamed in the reflection of the mirror, dark with avarice. He was everything she should be running away from and this was all kinds of unhealthy. She should just say no and fall in with all the other little minions as he moved onto his next 'favourite'.

But no, Klaus hadn't driven his point home yet. Just as her mother's wishes hadn't ultimately mattered when she held all the power, her wishes also came second to Klaus' desires. This was him reminding her of the pecking order in her new world – Klaus's world.

"Bra and panties too, love," he said laconically, and Caroline squashed what was left of her doubts. Elena, Bonnie and her Mom still needed her help, even if they resented it. This was Klaus, she knew what he wanted and liked. If she played her part well, she may survive with a few pawns intact.

Caroline straightened her spine, lifted her chin and reached behind to unhook the bra. It fell to the ground, and the panties followed. She could smell her own arousal, which meant Klaus knew exactly how turned on she was. She looked over shoulder at him, and he crooked a finger. Reluctantly, she obeyed and turned around,

"You look as delectable as always, Caroline," he said, spreading his legs. "Get on your knees."

Caroline immediately knew what was expected of her. She knelt as gracefully as she could, her hands gliding up and gripping his thighs. His cock bobbed in front of her. He was hard and rigid, precum already glistening - Klaus always did enjoy a show. His hand reached to stroke back her hair, and then tangle in her curls.

"Clean it off, Caroline," he murmured, and Caroline leaned forward, her tongue, sliding over the head of his cock, licking him clean. His grip on her hair tightened as he pushed another few inches into her mouth. He shifted on the bed, lying back on the covers. She couldn't see his face from this position, but his voice was sharp and sure.

"I want you get me off quickly, Caroline, I have a schedule to keep." he said, and the grip in her hair tightened. A part of her realised he was enjoying the view in the mirror overhead, and she felt the ache in core pulse in response.

Her hands dug into his thighs as her cheeks hollowed. He responded immediately, his hips jerking upward as he began to fuck her mouth in earnest. She let her tongue run along the underside of his shaft as she sucked and his grip in her hair grew painful. That was turning her on more than she would ever admit. She surged forward., widening her mouth to accommodate more of him, feeling the head of his cock nudging the back of her throat. The result was almost immediate. A gasp escaped his lips as his hips bucked, his back arching off the bed as he came in her mouth. She swallowed his seed down.

Silence reigned for a few moments and then the bed creaked as he sat up, pulling his now flaccid cock out of her mouth.

"Go take a shower," he said, as he tucked himself back in and buttoned up. "There is a dress hanging on the back of the door, wear it, be in the Foyer in half an hour."

She refused to feel humiliated. She wasn't a child, she knew what what he was trying to do. She gave him a cool look as she stalked towards the bathroom, and didn't let herself relax until she locked the door and turned on the shower taps The lesson was over. She either submitted to him willingly or he would force her to submit. There was power to be had in the former, slavery in the latter.

She glanced at the back of the door. The dress was simple, a pale blue sundress with a sweetheart neckline and wide straps. It flared out at the hips. Elegant  _and_ easy to run in, how fortuitous.

"Oh God," she said aloud. "I'm even beginning to sound like him." She tested the water and stepped into it, letting the hot water wet her hair and stream down her back. She was still wired and aroused and she knew from experience it wasn't a good combination.

Not giving a damn if he heard her, she began to touch herself, palming her breasts as the steaming water trailed over her sensitised skin. Finally, not being able to take it anymore, she slipped a hand between her legs and found her clit. She imagined the feel of his hands digging into her hips as he fucked her hard and fast from behind, the sting of his fangs as he fed from her throat, the heat of his mouth on her breasts and between her legs...

She shuddered with release, letting out a relieved moan. Even when she masturbated, she couldn't get away from him.

"Onward and upward," she muttered as eventually she reached for the shampoo bottle. One way or another, people were going to die tonight. All she had to do was make it wasn't anyone she cared about.


	14. Chapter 14

She was five minutes late and she came downstairs looking like a queen. The dress fitted her perfectly, and her hair was perfectly coiffed. She was Miss Mystic Falls right down to her impeccably painted scarlet toe nails. Caroline graced him with a sharp smile, her eyes roving over Katherine, Elena and Tyler.

“Where's my Mother?” she asked immediately.

 “She's still downstairs,” Klaus said. “I thought it was best she stayed there until she acclimatised to her new condition. From the glimmer in her eye, Klaus knew she picked up on the subtext.

 She squared her shoulders.”I need to see her,” she said, and Klaus almost admired the way she headed for the door as if didn't need his permission. He wrapped a hand around her arm, pulling her to a halt.

 “Just remember, Caroline, there is no future in betraying me.”

 “Trust me, I got the message.” For a moment, she almost seemed to shrink into herself, and Klaus felt a moment of regret. He wanted her to bend, not break. He needed her to remain Caroline...but also _his_ Caroline.

 Klaus frowned, wondering where that though came from, but didn't let go of her arm. “Things will be different after tonight – better. You'll see.” He let her go.

  

* * *

  

The first thing Caroline noticed was that the room was missing something. “Where's Stefan?”

 “Why don't you ask your new friend?” Bonnie asked bitterly. “He was dragged out of here, along with Tyler and Elena.”

 Caroline's mind reeled. He hadn't been with the others and if he wasn't here...has Klaus killed him? I seemed unlikely. If he were going to kill him, he'd have probably have done it at the other house and not bothered to drag him back to Mystic Falls. No, Klaus was planning something, and that was never good.

 “Bonnie, if you have anything to say. Any idea as to how to get Elena out of this, now would be the time to share,” she said lowly.

 “As if I'd ever tell you. We don't need your help,” Bonnie spat out.

 “John Gilbert is dead,” her Mom said quietly.

 A flicker of pain flashed through Bonnie's expression, which was kind of odd because Bonnie and John Gilbert weren't exactly bosom buddies. They couldn't stand each other, to be honest. “We've got a back up,” she said hoarsely, her eyes falling to the ground.

 Caroline's eyes narrowed. “So you have plan?” They both gave her the silent treatment. “Fine, then lets hope it goes off without a single hitch and you don't need the help of someone not currently in manacles,” she said, crossing her arms. “After all, your plan so far clearly has worked in your favour.” She gave them both pointed look

 “Maybe we wouldn't have to worry about things going wrong if you weren't spying on us,” Bonnie said flatly.

 Caroline resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I've been avoiding you guys for weeks, Bonnie. There was exactly zero spying going on.”

 “I still can't believe you betrayed us like that.”

 “It's called compulsion. He's an Original, he can compel other vampires. For all I know, he can compel werewolves and witches too, so I hope you've been drinking vervein.”

 A glimmer of fear showed in Bonnie's eyes. “We have to kill him.”

 Caroline snorted. “Good luck with that. Staking doesn't work.” A memory floated to the surface, the echo of fear in Klaus' voice when she'd tried to stake Elijah with a chunk of Wickory Bridge. She filed it away to think about later.

 “I'm sorry,” she said eventually. “I tried to find a way to stop him but he's been planning this for centuries. There's not a lot of wriggle room.” She struggled with a smile before turning towards the stairs. They didn't call after her.

 

* * *

 

 He listened to every word they exchanged in the basement, even as he stepped out onto the driveway. Caroline was beautiful and resourceful, but her loyalty wasn't his – not yet. He gestured at Maddox to load the sacrifices into the SUV and absently fingered the moonstone in his pocket. He had waited for a thousand years to be free. He wouldn't allow anyone to get in his way.

 Caroline materialised from the house, throwing Maddox an imperious glare as she claimed the passenger seat. Maddox looked at her sourly when he realised he was going to be trapped in the back with the sacrifices and Klaus suppressed a smile. The little minx was already making sure Maddox knew that, while Klaus was displeased with her, she wasn't out of favour. All those years of small town politics held her in good stead. She had a strong Machiavellian streak in her.

 He gave the SUV's trunk an absented minded pat before getting into the driver's seat . The extra dose of vervein he had given Stefan would keep him tractable for another few hours. He had a feeling that Elena Gilbert would be less likely to resist if he kept him at hand as leverage. He'd originally thought to use the witch, but the Bennett girl was too volatile and powerful, and he knew very well she had something up her sleeve. Keeping her as far away from the ritual site as possible was in his best interests.

 The drive to the ritual site was diverting. Caroline was a study in nonchalance and if he had not been living with her intimately over the last few weeks, he may have been fooled. The fact that she refused to bow down frustrated him but also induced a wave of unexpected affection. She would learn to obey him eventually, even understand the necessity of it – they all did eventually – but he couldn't help but admire her stubborn resolve.

 Excitement fizzed through his veins. At last he was going to be free of the curse his mother had put on him. Free to be truly himself. His mind drifted to his family. Soon he could awaken them and perhaps put an end to Mikael's persecution of them.

 For the first time in a very long time, Klaus felt...happy.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Caroline straightened up in her seat when the flicker of flames peeked though the trees. The dirt lane opened into a clearing, and Caroline eyed the leaping bonfires that lit the area. The ritual site was literally aglow with yellow flames, and what looked like a cross between a large bowl and an altar overlooked it from it's perch on a small mound. Vampires and witches marked the edges of the clearing, the witches eager, the vampires wary. It looked like a scene from a hammer horror movie. She glanced at Klaus, his hands were tapping the wheel excitedly as he pulled the SUV to a stop.

 She jumped out of the car and watched Maddox from the corner of her eye as he pulled Elena out of the vehicle. Katherine followed her slowly. Her wrists manacled but her legs unchained, her head was drooping and she seemed to be tripping over her feet, Caroline almost believed the act. Tyler was still unconscious in the back seat, the stink of wolfsbane seeping from his pores.

 Klaus smiled, letting his dimples show. “What a night,” he said, gesturing at the full moon that was almost at its apex. “It's going to be interesting.”

 Katherine's eyes flickered up, and Caroline caught the flash of a smug smile. She resolutely ignored her and glared at Maddox as he pulled a reluctant Elena towards the triple circles marked out in the dirt. Caroline knew there was a name for it. They used to have that triple circle thing on Charmed. She just hadn't realised real life witches used it too.

 “Hey, easy with the manhandling,” she said aloud.

 “Yes, Maddox,” Klaus drawled. “Don't bruise the doppelgänger on the way to her death.”

 “That isn't funny,” Caroline said tersely.

 “I beg to differ,” he said. “Now Katerina-” He turned and froze, and Caroline immediately knew what had happened. The wily vampire had made good her escape. At any other time, Caroline might have laughed at the flummoxed expression on his face, but his eyes immediately fell to her face and all traces of humour fell from the situation as Caroline realised that he'd put the pieces together. His hand flashed out and grabbed her arm in a vice, dragging her from the firelight.

 “My patience has come to an end, Sweetheart, and I'm in need of a new vampire for my ritual,” he said, a deadly edge to his voice. Caroline went still. This was it, she thought, he was going to lay her out in one of those rings and rip her heart out. Fear and irrational rage roiled inside her. A scoff left her lips before she could stop herself.

 “Fine,” she said. “I'm a little tired of being your lackey anyway!” She tried to pull free of his grip and step towards the circle. If she was going to die, she would do it under her own steam.

 His eyes narrowed. “I hadn't realised you were so eager to die, Caroline,” he said. “Unfortunately, I'm not about to oblige your death wish at this moment.” He raised a beckoning hand to one of the vampires that lurked under the trees. Caroline watched as he bent down and dragged a bound figure to her feet. Caroline felt her mouth go dry as she recognised her immediately.

 It was Jenna, her face was contorted into a rictus of panic, her eyes wide with uncomprehending fear, but it was undeniably her.

 “You're a very clever girl, Caroline,” Klaus said. “But I have been trying to break this curse for nearly a thousand years. Did you really think I wouldn't have a back up plan?”

 “Please, not Jenna,” Caroline said softly. “I'll do it, I'll be the sacrifice.”

 Something flickered in his eyes, something dark and searching, but it was gone a moment later. “No,” he said finally. “And don't ever suggest something like that again, or I'll kill them to make my point.” The words had an unyielding menace, and Caroline shivered, looking away.

 “But I will give you a choice of sorts,” he said quietly, as he pulled her towards the SUV. He popped open the trunk and Caroline found herself looking into the bewildered, angry eyes of Stefan Salvatore. “Well?” he asked.

 “That's not a choice,” Caroline said. “That's a punishment.”

 The smile on his face had little humour in it. “As I said, a clever girl.” He pulled the gag from Stefan's lips. “What do you think, Ripper? Thanks to Caroline's little game, I'm one short for the ritual. Should it be you or Jenna?”

 “Me,” he said, not hesitating, and Caroline felt a pang in her chest. He may hate her but he was still loyal to Elena.

 “How noble,” Klaus drawled. “How self sacrificing, how...boring.” He tutted under his breath, a sly expression on his face. He tilted his head, eyeing the vampire holding Jenna and crooked a finger.

 Caroline recognised the vampire, she had been the one who turned him. Pete something or another. Caroline had found him in a bar, half drunk and moaning something about girl called Olivia leaving him. He'd been a farmer, and she had needed someone who knew how to handle a gun to take out Elijah's witches.

 She knew what was going to happen next but there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was try and protect the ones she loved. He fell to the ground with an audible snap and Jenna began to scream, the sound strangled by the ball gag in her mouth.

 Klaus's face lit up with a malicious grin. “Then it's settled. The death of one innocent bystander in exchange for the life of Elena's Aunt Jenna...she needs to be quiet or I will kill her anyway. She's ruining my good mood.” Caroline didn't hesitate. She stepped forward and caught Jenna's face between her hands.

 “Don't scream, there's nothing to be afraid of. You're dreaming,” she murmured and Jenna's eyes dilated and calmed as the compulsion took hold.

 Klaus rolled his eyes as he pulled Jenna towards the trunk and threw her in with Stefan. “How about you two keep each other company until I get bored again,” he said, before slamming it shut. He turned to look at her, the smile forgotten.

 “You do realise they're never going to forgive you? Not Elena, not Bonnie, not that boyfriend that threw you away the moment he realised you weren't human anymore, and definitely not the Ripper. Maybe your mother will forgive you but she's already tried to kill you this week, so that's debatable. I am all you have, Caroline. You may not like me but you and I can do great things together, and we are most definitely...compatible.”

 Caroline bristled but said nothing as he glided a finger down her neck and along her flank, until his hand landed possessively on her hip. “I want your loyalty, Caroline,” he murmured.

 “And in return?” she asked archly.

 His smirk returned. “I'll help you reach your full potential, love. You have no idea of what you're capable off.”

 Actually, Caroline had a sinking feeling she knew exactly what she was capable of, just as she knew Klaus would revel in it. A part of her thrilled at the thought, at how easy it would be just to let go of her life and become part of his. Maybe he was right. Maybe there really wasn't a choice. What life had she left here anyway?

 He tugged her close and kissed the corner of her mouth. She couldn't help but wonder at the gentleness of it. What was going through his mind right at this moment?

 “You don't have to be here to watch your friends die, love. Go back to the house and wait for me there,” he said.

 A part of her felt resentful that he was sending her home like a small child, but another part of her remembered that Bonnie and her mother was back in the house, and Jenna and Stefan were in the trunk. She had to trust that the others had a plan for Elena in place and if not...well, that blood she slipped into her system a couple of days ago should still be viable. “

 He handed her the keys and she watched numbly as he rubbed his hands together and stalked towards the flames. “Let the games begin,” he called out, and Caroline felt her feet move before her mind caught up.

 It was a test. She knew it was a test. He wanted to see if she would run but Caroline already knew that wasn't an option. Her mother was newly turned, and Caroline suspected she was also suicidal, running with her would be impossible, especially as she didn't have a daylight ring and Caroline suspected Bonnie wouldn't be willing to make one for her.

 No, she needed to stay with him, just as she needed ot get her mother and Bonnie out of the house before Maddox and the other minions returned. This was her only window of opportunity, and if she played it right when he got back, she might even get away with it.

 She didn't remember most of the drive back. She was too busy planning what to do next. She wondered if her mother would still be able to enter their house. Technically, as she was the named in the will and also dead, the house wasn't owned by anyone living. She's need to test that theory, though. Bonnie was going to be more difficult. Caroline needed to stop treating her like a friend but she just couldn't leave her at Klaus's mercy either.

 The house was ablaze when Caroline pulled up and she got out warily. There should be nobody here. Had Bonnie or her mother gotten free? Maybe it was Katherine...

 Coming to a decision, she ran to the trunk and pulled it open. Both Stefan and Jenna blinked dazedly up at her but there was no time for explanations. She grasped Stefan's manacles and pulled, they twisted and broke. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“No time,” she whispered, tossing him the keys. Take Jenna and get out of here.”

 “Where's Bonnie?” he whispered back.

 “Inside, with whatever freak that has turned all the lights on,” she said. “But you still need to get Jenna out of here and-” Jenna coughed and then gasped for breath around the gag. Caroline pulled it out but she still couldn't seem to catch her breath. What's wrong with her?” she asked.

 Stefan's face looked grim. “Elena's dead,” he said, as Jenna gasped for another breath and then passed out. Caroline reached for her again but drew back when she heard Jenna's heart stutter to a halt.

 “What the hell just happened?” she hissed.

 “The back up plan,” Stefan said flatly. “It was supposed to be John Gilbert.”

 Caroline remembered the expression on Bonnie's face earlier. She'd _known_ Jenna was going to die,it was probably her spell. Wouldn't it have been better to turn Elena rather than sacrifice Jenna's life? “I see,” she said aloud, as she looked at Jenna's corpse. “Get out of here, Stefan, it's probably best if you never return here.”

 Stefan eyed her warily. “You're staying?”

 “I'm staying,” she answered quietly. “Don't worry, I'll free Bonnie. I'll probably send my mom to stay with you too. Someone will have to show her the ropes.”

 “And that someone won't be you,” he said.

 “I think it's for the best, don't you?”

 She turned on her heels and headed for the door. Whoever had left all the lights on was making a statement, not trying to be stealthy. She squared her shoulders as she entered the foyer. “Hello?”

 A blur coalesced in front of her and Caroline felt her mouth go dry as she recognised the figure. “Elijah,” she said.

 Another figure appeared from the livingroom, and yet another from stairs. The basement door opened and a third figure completed the triumvirate.

 “Hello, Caroline,” Elijah said. “What pleasure to meet you again. I believe you've already met Kol.”

 “Kol slouched against the doorway of the livingroom. “Hello, darling.”

 “Good grief, can we kill her already?” said the girl on the stairs. “This is getting tedious, and her taste in clothes are atrocious. Do women actually dress this trash?”

 Caroline's eyes narrowed. She recognised the dress she was wearing. It was one of her favourites.

 “Now, now, Rebekah,” Kol said. “No insulting the help.” Caroline curled her fingers into her palms. They were trying to get a rise out of her to see which way she jumped. She wasn't going to oblige.

 “What do you want?” Caroline asked. “You already know Klaus isn't here.”

Elijah gave her a reproving look but then pulled something from his jacket. It was the piece of wood she'd torn from Wickory Bridge - Klaus had kept it?

 “I want to know,” he said crisply. “Who gave you a White Oak stake.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

Caroline stared at the stake in Elijah's hand _._ ' _Lie_ ,' was her first instinctive thought. " _Lie your ass off. Don't tell him about the bridge. Don't tell him anything._ "

The problem was Caroline wasn't a very good liar, especially when she didn't know what exactly she had to lie  _about._  Oh, sure, she was getting a lot of practice at it lately, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew Klaus let himself be fooled because, in his own strangely psychotic way, he sort of liked her. These guys didn't look so enamoured. In fact, Caroline was pretty positive they were looking for any excuse to kill her on the spot. It was good thing she wasn't human anymore or else she was sure her heart would have already given the game away.

"I don't know," she said aloud . "It belongs to Klaus." She prayed Katherine hadn't drained her of all the vervein in her system or this could go south very quickly. The look Elijah was giving her could probably deep freeze the Sahara.

"Finn," he said, his eyes sliding past her. "Any information from our guests in the basement?"

"He's completing the ritual tonight," the guy called Finn said. Caroline's eyes darted to the basement door and Elijah caught her slip, and quirked an eyebrow. The stake disappeared inside his double breasted suit jacket, and he meticulously tugged at the cuff of his sleeve. Caroline knew a tell when she saw one, this was not going to go in her favour.

"Oh wonderful, now Klaus has found a White Oak source. He's going to be insufferable," Rebecca declared, descending the stairs. "Where are the other servants?" She pinned Caroline with a look.

High fatality rate," Caroline shot back. A glimmer of Klaus's temper shone in her eyes and she backpedalled slightly."And the rest of them are at the ritual site. They should be back soon."

"You're related to the vampire chained in the basement," Finn said quietly. Oh god, how to answer? If she sounded too concerned they might try to use her mother as leverage – which would totally work – and if she sounded too flippant, they might kill her just because they can't be bothered with the extra baggage.

"Well?" Rebekah asked. "Cat got your tongue?"

"She's my mother," Caroline said.

"And the witch?" Kol prompted.

"Bonnie," Caroline said reluctantly, as she wondered where this was going.

"A interesting selection of captives," Elijah murmured. "There's someone outside, who would that be?"

For a wild moment, Caroline thought it might be Klaus, but reality brought her down with a thump as she realised it was most likely Stefan. Perfect, just what she needed. Righteous Stefan getting them all killed with his tarnished hero complex. Okay, that might have been a little catty. But she'd just found out that he'd help kill Jenna, all because Elena didn't want to risk becoming a vampire. She scowled at the thought.

Kol let out a low laugh. "I think our pretty little small town girl knows exactly who it is," he said. "An uninvited guest, by the look on her face." Caroline felt her stomach lurch. She may be annoyed at Stefan at the moment, but she didn't want him dead.

"What can I say, I have my dance card full of ancient super powerful original vampires at the moment,"she said aloud, hoping Stefan got the message and made a run for it. Elijah rolled his eyes. Something told her he knew exactly what she had been attempting.

"It probably one of those Salvatore brothers who were salivating after the doppelganger," he sighed. "We should probably kill him, We have enough complications as it is."

Caroline watched as Kol sloughed off and disappeared in a blur, and the rev of the SUV's engine caught everyone's attention as the stink of burning rubber reached their noses. Caroline closed her eyes. It would have been nice if Stefan had done the smart thing instead of the right thing for once. She braced herself to run.

The SUV slammed into the front doors, wrenching the door jamb from it's moorings as the vehicle careened into the foyer, throwing up dust and debris. Caroline had a moment to register that the driver's seat was empty before she sped away as fast as she could. She got lucky - mainly because Elijah had surmised she'd make an attempt to rescue her mother if she ran, but the last couple of months in Klaus's presence had taught Caroline that she would be doomed to fail if she attempted a rescue with four Originals in her wake. What was the old saying? Fight fire with fire or, in this case, Originals with Originals .

She needed to find Klaus quickly. They were his family. He'd know what kind of tricks they liked and what would be their next steps. She couldn't leave her mother in their grasp longer than was necessary.

She didn't have much time. She knew once Elijah has reorientated himself, he'd realise what her next step would be. She needed to make it to the ritual site before they did. They were faster and stronger, but she knew the terrain. It might give her the edge she needed. She ran through the woods, ducking and darting at speeds she'd never attempted before. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. She didn't hear anyone behind her but she figured it would probably be already too late if she did.

With a sob, she stumbled into the clearing where they'd held the ritual and immediately realised it was deserted; even the bodies were gone, although the faint smell of scorched wood and blood still tinged the air. She tried to pick out Klaus's scent but it seemed to masked by something more pungent and musky. Caroline stilled as she realised what she was smelling - wolf. Well, she supposed that answered that question. The ritual had worked.

She pulled back from the ritual site and stalked deeper into the woods, following the wolf scent. Dawn was hours away, did hybrid werewolves stay wolfed out all night? Caroline shook her head. Sometimes her life was way too weird.

A crackle of leaves snapped her to attention and Caroline crouched, her eyes scanning the darkness. Her night sight was downright preternatural, but she'd bet that Klaus's was better. Why the hell had thought it was a good idea to search for Klaus without a weapon?

A low growl permeated the air and a piece of shadow moved across the forest floor. A shaft of moonlight slid over his pale silvered pelt, his yellow eyes gleaming speculatively. Yep, there he was,

Klaus the giant frigging hybrid wolf.

Instinct took over and she sped away. Klaus took chase, his enormous paws eating up the distance between them with ease. Caroline mentally kicked herself. Of course he'd love the chase, he was basically a really big and supernaturally powerful dog.

And – because the world really hated her – that was when her foot caught on something in the undergrowth and she found herself face down in the dirt. Panicking, she rolled onto her back just in time to watch Klaus fly through the air at her. She pulled her legs up and pushed with all her might as he landed on top of her. He tumbled backward through the air, paws spinning almost comically and Caroline was on her feet and running by the time he righted himself. She knew she only had moments before he leapt on her again, this time from behind.

" _He's got four legs_ ,  **c** _ **limb**_ ," she thought, she veered towards an old oak and half jumped, half pulled herself up. Klaus caught up and circled the trunk, and any hope that he might give up and find easier prey were dashed as his snout lifted in the air, a a low growl emanatingd from his chest. She didn't know what that meant in wolf but she was pretty darned sure it didn't mean 'let's meet up at grandma's for tea and crumpets'.

She snapped a branch off and waved it at him. "Don't even think about it, buster. I've got a stake and I'm not afraid to use it!" He let out a low whuffing sound as he sat on his hind legs and glared up at her and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Just so you know," she said. "I am  _never_  going to let you live this down."

 

* * *

 

She woke with a start, grasping at a tree branch as she felt her balance slip. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep but it sun wasn't up yet so it couldn't have been that long.

"Caroline," a familiar voice singsonged, and Caroline groaned as she looked down. There he was, completely naked, which was a distraction she didn't need right now. She pulled her eyes resolutely away as she noticed his cock was already at half mast.

"About damned time," she grumbled, as she jumped down. He grinned lopsidedly, which made Caroline blink. Klaus didn't grin, he smirked, It was definitely time to wipe it off. "Your family is awake," she said primly. "They've set up residence in your house - and they want to know about that stake you stopped me from using on Elijah. He has it now, by the way."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Unfortunately for Elijah, the days that the White Oak stake could have hurt me have passed," he said. "Although one might become in handy if my illustrious father comes to town." he stalked towards her, a familiar glint in his eye, and Caroline took a step back, only to find herself flush against the tree trunk. His arms caged her in as his lips trailed the shell of her ear.

"They have my mother and Bonnie," she reminded him hoarsely. "You've ruined my life. Everything was fine before you came along."

"I think you know that's not true. One way or another, your friends were going to get you killed." His hand moved through her hair, whisper soft. "Change is painful, Caroline, but one day you'll thank me for this. You're a survivor, like me."

That was a lie too. It had to be. She let his hand slide up the skirt of her dress, his fingers ghosting between her thighs. She almost moaned as she felt him stroke her through the silk of her panties. She arched against him as he nuzzled her throat, his lips warm as he scraped her with his human teeth. He was being gentle, and she knew she should put a stop to that. She was too vulnerable, too needy right now, she might make a mistake and let him in….but she was also slick with arousal, the monster inside her crying out for release, begging for it - feed or fuck, her body screamed. preferably the two together.

The monster won.

Stop playing with me and just fuck me, Klaus" she said hoarsely, spreading her legs to give him better access. He smirked against her skin before raising his head. His eyes were blood and gold, and Caroline felt a red hot surge of need. For what exactly, she really didn't want to pinpoint.

How would you like it, love, on your back or on your knees?" He cupped her mound possessively, his smile wide and almost feral and, oh my god, did he have double fangs now?

She resisted the urge to lean forward and touch them with her tongue. That seemed too intimate. She didn't think she could handle that right now. "Doggy style?  _Really_ , Klaus?" she taunted.

His grin only widened, his good humour unfazed. "Hands and knees it is, then"

The world spun, and Caroline found herself struggling for purchase on the ground as he shoved her dress up. Her panties were tugged down and ripped away and he drove into her with the ease of a familiar lover, his hips tilting just  _so,_  as he draped himself over her back and pulled her against him. He pistoned his hips into her, their skin slapping together, echoing in the night air. He gripped her hip, hard enough to bruise, and this time Caroline  _did_  moan. This is what she wanted, mindless fucking, not that uneasy sense of connection she sometimes felt when he stroked her hair or kissed her deeply.

Fangs sank into her throat and Caroline arched into them. They felt different - sharper, deeper, and holding a sting she hadn't felt before,.burning in her blood. She slipped a hand between her legs and rubbed her clit, clenching on his cock as she felt her orgasm build.

He ripped his mouth from her skin as his thrusts became more frenzied. "That's right, love, touch yourself," he groaned. "So wet for me, love, so perfect...Caroline."

He wasn't supposed to speak when they fucked, he wasn't supposed to say her name, but it was too late. It was all too much. She was coming.

"Klaus," she uttered. "Oh God...I..." She let out a low, needy whine as her orgasm unraveled, arching back into him as she felt his seed spill, coating her insides and sliding messily down her thighs. His weight collapsed on top of her and Caroline let out a small, sated sigh as he pulled out of her. The scent of his blood fill the air, distinctive and yet subtly different,

"Drink, love, a hybrid bite can kill a vampire without the cure."

Caroline wasn't sure what that meant, but her lips eagerly latched onto his wrist, relishing the taste of his blood as she came down from her high. He shifted his weight, pulling her with him, until they were curled together in the leaves.

"Well, isn't this a tender scene."

Caroline sat bolt upright, biting down a squeak as she noticed Stefan leaning against a tree, arms pulled down the skirt of her dress hastily, making sure nothing showed. She could do nothing about the heavy musk of sex still lingering in the air, though. Klaus just stretched, the muscles in his shoulders and back gliding under his skin, before he stood. If Stefan had thought he'd got the drop on Klaus just because he'd caught him naked, then he was in for a nasty surprise.

"Stefan," he drawled. "I'd say this was a surprise but, truth be told, I was expecting you. Here to parley, are we?"

"Your family have Bonnie and Liz," he said."And while I know you don't care about their lives, I'm betting Caroline does." If we work together, we might be able to free them."

Caroline frowned, Stefan was leaving something out, she could sense it - and Stefan being Stefan, it probably had something to with Elena. She loved Elena, she did - but Caroline's mother was her priority, and if there was one lesson she's learned tonight, it was that Stefan would let anyone die to protect Elena.

Klaus's grin grew wider. "Why, Stefan, are you actually suggesting an alliance?" he asked. "I'm shocked, truly."

"Cut the sarcasm, Klaus, do you want my help or not?"

"What do you think, love? Do we want his help?" Klaus asked lightly.

"What kind of help?" Caroline asked. "He's already lost the element of surprise." Klaus raised an eyebrow at her. "Long story," she said.

"I'm going to be your inside man," Stefan declared. "They're not going to need much convincing. They know you killed Elena, they'll expect me to want some payback."

"Funny you should say that, because I'll fully admit I thought you'd want some payback as well."

"Not as much as I want you and your crazy family gone," Stefan spat out, fists clenching. He was holding onto his temper by a thread, Caroline realised, and Klaus would swat him like a fly if he lost it.

"What's your plan," she cut in. "Or are you just going to stroll up and say, hi, can I join  _your_  gang.".

"Pretty much," Stefan said, with a shrug.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Stefan, that's a terrible plan."

"Have you a better one? At least this way I can keep an eye on Bonnie and your Mom until we come up with a rescue."

It sounded reasonable but Caroline knew it was all lies. Not only did Stefan hate Klaus passionately, she was pretty sure he wanted to rip her heart out as well. He was never going to forgive her for killing Damon."

But Klaus just shrugged. "Fair enough,"he said. "Off you go," he said. "Although I have my reservations on whether you will be victorious at garnering a place at the table."

"And what about you?" Stefan pressed. "What will you do?"

Klaus just smiled. "Oh, I have plans," he promised. "Ones that extend outside Mystic Falls." Caroline resisted the urge to roll her eyes as they stared each other down, but then Stefan uncrossed his arms and gave them a nod.

"We'll meet at Caroline's home tonight," he said, and Caroline's mind creamed  _trap_. She hoped it didn't show on her face.

"Tonight," Klaus agreed, and they both watched as Stefan slinked back into the shadows.

He's going to betray us, you do realise that?" Caroline said, once she was sure he was out of earshot.

"Of course he is, love." he said. strutting over to her. Naked Klaus wasn't helping her equilibrium

She scowled. "Then why are grinning?"

He pulled her nearer, reaching behind her to unzip her dress. The straps slipped from her shoulders revealing the powder blue strapless bra she wore underneath. He tugged the cups down, letting her breasts spill out.

"You said  _us_ ," he said. lowering his head. His tongue darted out, giving one pebbling nipple an explorative lick, before his mouth hungrily latched on and bit down. Caroline let out a gasp, her knees buckling, and Klaus followed her to the ground, his cock hardening against her leg as he fed off her. .She spread her legs in invitation and his head lifted, bloodied lips and dimples on display as he positioned himself and pushed inside. She let out a eager moan as he languidly fucked her

"You won't regret this," he promised, as he slid a hand between them and tweaked her clit. Her mouth fell open as she tumbled over the edge, her legs wrapping around him, holding him in place. She arched into him, her fingers clawing his back, as her body screamed and chased another orgasm, She came again, shuddering this time, the pleasure hot and almost unseemly as he bit into the curve of her throat and emptied himself inside her

In the end, she didn't even felt herself stepping over that line.


	16. Chapter 16

It was when the fourth werewolf died in a pool of vomit and blood, his yellow eyes glassy and lifeless, that Caroline realised it was only a matter of time before Klaus realised Elena was still alive, but she buried her worry in an expression of boredom as she folded her arms and leaned back against the campervan.

"Who are these guys again?" she asked, and Klaus's lip twitched in disgust as the last two werewolves curled in upon themselves, shuddering weakly as they died.

"Mason Lockwood's pack, minus Mason Lockwood; they came to town looking for answers." He spread his hands. "And I have provided them." He prowled over to the sedan they'd hijacked. The owner was frozen at the wheel, fear oozing from his pores, and Caroline could hear the little breathy sounds in his throat as he fought against Klaus's compulsion to be silent. The idiot had slowed down for a pretty blonde on the road and ended up with the big bad wolf instead. Caroline watched as Klaus pried his fingers loose from the wheel and swung him out of the car, as easily as if he were a chew toy, and latched onto his throat. She listened to the stuttering of the driver's heart and swallowed as she realised her first reaction had been hunger, not horror.

"Did you have to do that?" Caroline asked, as his heartbeat stopped and the corpse fell to the forest floor. He gave her a sly, bloodied grin.

"Have to, no; want to…?"

Caroline felt her hunger clamour for attention, which only made the guilt gnaw deeper. He stepped in closer, stroking her hair back from her cheek. She shivered at his touch. Was this what she was becoming? She was a survivor, yes, but at what cost? Thankfully, the driver had been an out of towner. She didn't think she could dispose of another body with a familiar face.

"Time to leave, love," he said, as he stepped back and bent down to snatch the driver's wallet and phone from his jacket pockets. His fingers blurred as he tapped in a number.

" _Sir?_ "

Caroline sighed. Of course Maddox had survived, she thought, as she recognised his voice. The guy was like a cockroach. "Ask if he has had any news of Bonnie or my Mom," she said aloud.

"I'm sure Stefan has convinced my siblings it wouldn't be in their interest to kill them, as of yet," Klaus said absently. "For one, a Bennett witch is hard to come by and I'm sure he has made it clear it was a package deal."

"I thought we agreed we couldn't trust him," Caroline reminded him.

"Of course not, but Stefan is just clever enough to appear willing right until the moment he attempts to stab us in the back." He said, before listening to whatever Maddox was whining about on the phone. She didn't bother tuning in. She knew from experience Maddox would keep the conversation deliberately ambiguous. She did pick up enough to know where their next stop would be, however.

"Seriously? The Lockwood mansion?" she asked. "Isn't that a little too obvious."

"We're not hiding, love, we're regrouping," he said. "There is a difference - besides, I need an answer to this." He waved a hand at the dead bodies and Caroline hoped nothing was showing on her face as she stepped into the old Cadillac. She was under no illusions, Klaus was not going to let this go. He'd just been usurped by his family and yet the first thing he'd done after their little … _romp_ in the woods was come here. Klaus wanted his own pack and he wouldn't stop until he had one.

It was supposed to get easier when she chose Klaus's side, but it just seemed to grow more complicated.

The Lockwood mansion was eerily quiet when they pulled was hard to wrap her head around the fact all the Lockwoods were gone. Her world had changed almost beyond recognition. The front doors were flung open as they approached and Maddox stepped out.

"I invite you in," he murmured to Klaus, and then paused before he turned to Caroline, tilting his head inquiringly towards Klaus. It had only taken two seconds before Maddox attempted his first power play.

Klaus smirked. "Invite her in, Maddox," he said, and the witch didn't even try to hide his small moue of disappointment.

."You may enter," he said gracelessly, and Caroline gave him a saccharine sweet smile as she crossed the threshold.

"Why thank you, Maddox, you're too kind," she said, her eyes training on the two vampires visible through the doors that led into the drawing recognised them both, she'd been the one to turn them, after all; Sarah, the temp from the dentist's office on Main street and Joe, who worked nights at the local quiki mart on route 46. Her eyes darted around. "Where are the others?"

"Corpses," Maddox said coolly. "Elijah is apparently still stinging from our attack on his abode." Caroline gulped. If that is what he did to the cannon fodder, what would he do to her?

"Enough of that now ,"Klaus said, seeing her face " Armies to build, siblings to quell, so much to do."

Right, of course, a plan. "What first?" she asked. Klaus turned to Maddox, who inclined his head towards the Lockwood study.

"The files are on the desk," Maddox said.

Caroline frowned as she followed him. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?"

"Contingencies," Klaus said. "You remember how difficult it was to stop my brother last time?" He turned to grin at her. Well imagine how difficult it will be to quell four of my siblings."

Thanks for the mental image," Caroline said dryly. "Could you cut to the chase?"

"Witches, love, we need witches," he said. "To trace the daggers, to solve my little hybrid issue, to search and destroy." His eyes grew cold. "I don't take betrayal very well."

Caroline hesitated. "There's a Lucy Bennet," she said, after a moment. "She doesn't like vampires very much but Bonnie is family. She might help."

Klaus turned to Maddox, who nodded. "She lives in Chicago," he said. "A strong witch but, as she said, not fond of vampires. It's one of the reasons I've never approached her but she is a Bennet so…."

Klaus nodded. "I want her here by morning," he said.

Caroline buried the lingering guilt she felt about giving up Lucy's name. The witch had been happy to help Katherine in her plans until she realised Bonnie had been there, so better the Bennet she knows and loves than the one who was happy plotting to kill them until it became inconvenient. She trailed behind him as he entered the study, watching as he began to tear into the pile of files closest to him, flicking through them quickly before either placing them back onto the desk or letting it fall to the floor. Hers eyes fell to the other pile of files on the edge of the desk. "What are these?"

"Werewolf packs," he said tersely. "Of little use to me at present, as you've witnessed earlier." He looked up. "We're going to need a new coterie of vampires, preferably council members, ones that are in local government or in the Sheriff's office. That shouldn't be much of a challenge to you, love."

Ah, the first test. Caroline smiled grimly as she leaned back in her chair. "Let me guess - I turn them, you compel them?"

He smiled back. "Good to see we're on the same page."

Caroline bit her lip. "We'll need a few but not too many," she said. "That might tip off your siblings." And Stefan, she thought, but didn't say it aloud.

"Three from the Founder's Council, three from the Sheriff's office," Klaus suggested, steepling his fingers.

Caroline nodded. "Meredith Fell," she said. "A doctor and a council member. She's single so there will be nobody at home to notice any strange mood swings or differences in behaviour." She paused. "And Barbara and James Johnson - he's the kind of person who puts esquire at the end of his name. He has lots of money and likes to throw it around. His wife Barbara is already planning to take over Carol Lockwood's events committee."

They sound charming, said Klaus, Tipping his chair back, he eyed her through drooping eyelashes

"Well, you're not looking for likeable, are you?" She countered.

"I've noticed you've not mentioned anyone from the Sheriff's office," he said softly, and Caroline felt her heart lurch a little. She had grown up surrounded by the Sheriff's department, had been fed cookies by them. They had helped her with her homework when her Mom had been out on a call...but her Mom still came first.

"Amos Jones, John Roberts, Linda Fell," she said. "Amos is Mom's deputy, Linda is in dispatch, John is on the desk." And none of them have kids, she thought to herself.

"Well you better get to it," he said tilting his head to door. There was a challenge in his eyes that Caroline recognised. She tossed back her hair and strutted towards the door.

"I'm taking the SUV," she called back over her shoulder. She let the door slam behind her and hoped her bravado covered her nerves as she slid in behind the wheel of the vehicle and turned on the engine. What she was about to do was risky but she needed a backup plan, one that didn't rely on Klaus's mood or Stefan's ulterior knuckles whitened on the wheel as she realised what she was about to do. She was going to betray a friend and she was going to do it of her own free will.

"Time to be the bad guy," she muttered to herself."

* * *

Doubt.

He had seen it in her eyes. He supposed that should worry him but it didn't. She was holding something back, he knew she was, but it was only a matter of time before she began to see things as they really were. He could afford to be patient - for now.

"Have we surveillance?" he asked Maddox.

"For now," the witch allowed. "Elijah is conversant with modern technology so he'll eventually realise we have access to the home security system. Fortunately for us, his usual tech aid was killed with the rest of his retinue at his home."

"As fascinating as I find this, Maddox, I was in fact hoping to hear something more pertinent to our immediate situation."

"Stefan has informed them of the nature of your relationship with Forbes girl," Maddox sniffed. "I believe them at odds as to how to proceed but they're leaning towards using her mother as leverage and inducing her to spy on you."

"It would be logical, yes," Klaus mused, before noticing the sour expression on Maddox's face. "Do you have something to add?"

"She's a liability, Klaus," he spluttered. "She has divided loyalties!"

"Well at least you didn't say she held no loyalty. That would have been disappointing," Klaus drawled. "She's mine, Maddox, end of discussion."

"Greta was yours too."

"Ah, yes, an unhappy accident, and a lesson in how easily one can stumble if one put one's own ambitions before mine." He patted Maddox on the cheek. "You seem a little tense my friend. Perhaps you should take on another lover. I would oblige you but I find myself a little preoccupied at the moment."

Maddox's scowl deepened and Klaus allowed himself a smirk. The witch was perhaps a little too easy to rile but it did amuse him. While the idea of luring another lover to join him in Caroline's bed was appealing, he doubted he would ever convince Caroline it should be Maddox. She disliked him intensely, which was a pity as he had a rather talented mouth.

Maddox's cellphone rang and quirked an eyebrow as he looked at the screen. " _Elijah,_ " he mouthed, and Klaus smirked. Let the games begin.

"Brother," he purred, as he answered the cell. "So kind of you to call."

* * *

" _This is so wrong_ ," she thought, as she watched the Salvatore house, but she didn't move. Stefan had her mother and she needed leverage, something other than his word to keep her safe and there was only one thing left on this planet that Stefan truly loved - Elena.

" _You can do this. You're not going to hurt her, you're just going to... relocate her_ ," Caroline told herself, and then wrinkled her nose. Who was she kidding? This was practically Evil Guy 101: kidnapping innocent humans. But, try as she might, she couldn't shake the look in Stefan's eyes when he looked at her earlier, so here she was, prowling around his house like some kind of vampire stalker. Alaric was with her, playing the part of her protector, but the poor guy was already three sheets to the wind. He wasn't taking the news of Jenna's death well. She could hear Elena move upstairs but Jeremy was nowhere to be seen. She had already tried to creep into the house but Stefan had obviously handed the deeds over to someone else again, probably Alaric. She needed to get an invite or find a way of luring her out without getting staked for her efforts.

She was definitely going to hell for this.

Ten minutes later, she heard Alaric's soft, drunken snore in the livingroom and threw her first pebble. It rang sharply against the upper window and Caroline smiled and waved as Elena drew the curtains back, noting the worried expression on her face. " _It's only me, Elena, silly little Caroline,"_ she thought, as she plastered her ditsiest expression on her face. It must have worked because she heard her footsteps on the stairs a few moments later. The door opened a crack.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed lowly.

"Have you talked to Stefan?" Caroline asked. "He said he'd try to get Bonnie and my Mom out of Klaus's mansion."

"I think you should go home, Caroline." The door nudged open another few inches and it was then that Caroline noticed the loaded crossbow in her hand. Okay, this was going to be a lot riskier than she thought - although she might be able to use it to her advantage. She crossed her arms. If she couldn't use the sympathy card then maybe she could use anger.

"Well, I'd love to, Elena, I really would, but you and your shit show of a lovelife has made that pretty much impossible - or haven't you noticed that pretty much everyone you know is either dead or about to be."

Elena glared at her. "Are you saying this is my fault!"

Caroline rolled her eyes and felt something like real anger. "Did it never occur to you, even for a minute to just leave town or maybe just clue in your friends and family into what was happening? Do you have any idea how many lives would have been saved? Because I could do a quick headcount for you."

"And what about you? Elena snapped. "What's your excuse. You killed Damon-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I supposed to apologise for killing my rapist? My Bad." Elena's face blanched and Caroline snorted. "Oh please, as if you didn't know. What did you think he was doing to me when he wasn't using me as his personal blood bag, playing tiddlywinks?"

Alaric's voice called from within the house. " _Hey, who's at the door?_ "

Elena's head just turned for a moment and Caroline flashed forward. It was then that instinct worked against Elena as she raised the crossbow to defend herself. It pierced the threshold and Caroline gave a fierce tug, propelling Elena forward. It was all Caroline needed and she snatched at Elena's suddenly vulnerable arm and swung her out of the doorway and against the wall, wrenching the crossbow out of her hand. With a quick snap, she broke the chain of her necklace and threw it into the treeline and then slapped a hand over Elena's mouth as she stared into Elena's glowering eyes. " _You will not utter a word, you will not resist me, you will do everything I say_."

Alaric's unsteady steps staggered through the house and Caroline quickly hustled Elena away from the door and down the driveway, towards the SUV.

" _Elena? Elena!"_

Bundling Elena into the car, Caroline ignored the look of horror and fear on Elena's as she noticed the dead bodies in the back and started the engine. She needed to get them back to the mansion before they woke up and decided Elena was the perfect snack.

Her phone rang and Caroline let out a huff of frustration. "it's not safe to drive and talk on the phone, you know." she said, upon answering.

"Nice to hear your voice too, sweetheart," he said dryly. "I'm afraid l'm in need of an ETA. We're expecting company."

"Caroline looked into the back seat. "I have everyone, shall I bring them back to the house or hide them elsewhere?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. " _Bring them to the house. I want them in play as quickly as possible. Be quick_."

* * *

Klaus looked down at the phone and watched the green dot speed away from the Salvatore house on the app. Caroline hadn't figured out yet the vehicle was low jacked. Maddox, at his shoulder, didn't say anything but the smug look on his face said it all. His witch felt vindicated.

He shrugged away the incipient sense of disappointment that threatened to morph into rage. He hadn't been foolish enough to believe he had Caroline's complete trust but he had been hoping they had moved beyond betrayal. Had she and Stefan been in league all along, or perhaps it was Alaric?

"Is everything in place?" he asked flatly.

Maddox nodded. "They should be making contact with her soon. They will most likely try to waylay her before she makes Wickory Bridge."

He nodded. "Elijah wants to be sure he can have her in play as his spy before our meet tonight," he said.

"Shall I kill her now?" Maddox asked. "It would be the work of moments to strip her ring of its magic."

The sense of betrayal itched under his skin. She was supposed to have chosen _him_. Chosen a future outside this petty little town. She wasn't supposed to be this small and inconsequential, another pawn on the board...

"No," he said, coming to a decision. "I want to see her eyes when I rip her traitorous little heart out."

* * *

The four Mikaelsons stood across the breadth of the Wickory Bridge, posing on it as if it were a runway, and Caroline slowed down. She noticed a Jeep was pulled into the side of the road, hidden by a few branches, and peered at it. Stefan behind the wheel, a neutral expression on his face. Thankfully, she's already stashed Elena in her mother's house or this could have gotten awkward...still, this didn't look good. She was beginning to wish she had kept Elena's necklace as she was pretty sure the little amount of vervein she had left in her bloodstream wasn't going to help her.

" _Drama queens_ ," Caroline muttered, as she came to a stop and turned off the engine. For a moment, she considered sitting there and waiting until they made a move but that would ruin their display of dominance, and if they had only the fraction of the ego their brother had, then that would spell terrible things for the fate of her mother. She stepped out the SUV and sauntered towards them, making sure to add a little flip to her skirt. Number one rule when dealing with a Mikaelson: show no fear.

"Seriously?" she said. "I know the rules of the road are probably a little after your time but this is ridiculous. Couldn't you have just called me, dropped me an email - texted me?"

"Miss Forbes, "Elijah said, and made a slight inclination of his head. "How kind of you to join us."

From the corner of her eye, Caroline watched Stefan get out of the Jeep and open its trunk and suddenly she knew that this was going to be even worse than she'd imagined. She'd always _known_ he couldn't be trusted but she hadn't thought he'd stab her in the back so quickly. The idea was to blackmail Stefan with Elena's life _before_ this happened.

Her mother was bound and gagged and blazingly angry from the look of her eyes. Caroline listened for another heartbeat and heard none, which meant Bonnie was either still at the mansion or dead. She curled her fingers into fists and resolutely returned her attention back to Elijah.

"What to you want?" she asked.

"It's quite simple, Miss Forbes," Elijah said. "I want you to deliver to us our brother."

Caroline took a breath. The best lie was an almost truth. "Let me rephrase that. What do you want that I can deliver you. I've been compelled not to betray Klaus."

Elijah's head tilted as he gave her a measuring look. "I see. Well, this seems to have been a waste of time and energy." He looked over her shoulder at Stefan, gave him another little nod and suddenly Caroline knew that this had been the plan all along. They'd never been here to talk. She was the opening gambit. They were here to kill her.

Instinct had her blur towards her mother but it was like watching the scene from a distance. The look of hurt astonishment on her mother's face, the whimper of pain that escaped her lips as her face greyed, the way her body folded onto the ground like she were a marionette with her strings cut. _Shock_ , a small part of her mind volunteered, _you're suffering from shock_.

She couldn't breath, she couldn't think, she knew she was about to die but all she could see was the smug, cold expression on Stefan's face as he stood there with her mother's heart in his hand.

The cadence of Latin broke the silence and then there was pain, hot searing pain. Caroline fell to her knees, at last able to scream, and an arm grabbed her around her waist and pulled her up. Caroline recognised Klaus's scent, but all she could comprehend was her mother's dead body and Stefan glaring up at her from his pained crouch in the dirt, hatred etched into his face, She wanted him to know the consequences of his actions, wanted to see the look on his face as his world shattered around him. Her lips curved into a cold smile as the words spilled from her mouth.

"Elena is still alive," she said. "And I have her."


	17. Chapter 17

His siblings were slipping. It had only taken him a moment to extricate himself from the situation on the bridge after Maddox had disabled their daylight rings. Klaus slipped out of the car he had relieved from its owner and stalked into the Lockwood mansion, ignoring the persistent drum of the Gilbert girl's fists on the car trunk's lid. Maddox was already waiting for him in the Foyer, having gone ahead while he'd made a detour

Everything went well?" Maddox asked, his eyes drifting past him to fall on the vehicle and its noisy luggage.

Klaus smiled, remembering the look of horror on the doppelganger's face when Caroline had dragged her in front of him. "Everything is just….peachy," he said. "We need somewhere new to stay. They will figure out where we are before too long and I do not want to give them the element of surprise. He risked a sideways glance as Caroline entered the house. She had been uncharacteristically quiet since their run in with his family, not even bothering to catch Elena's eye as he'd bundled her into the trunk. As back up plans to save her mother go, it had been clever one, but Caroline had never been personally acquainted with Stefan's Ripper alter ego, and second hand accounts really don't do him justice. It was a miscalculation she wouldn't make again.

There was a grim stillness to her face that he'd never seen before. Not that he should be surprised. Despite everything, Caroline had loved her Mother. Why, he could not fathom, but it was why he had turned the Sheriff rather than slaughtering her like she had so justly deserved. Taking her hand, he led her upstairs. She acquiesced easily but her eyes had a new intensity that he found intriguing. Had she flipped her switch? He pulled her into the master bedroom and studied her face intently.

"Are you alright, sweetheart? Not about to go all kamikaze on me, now, are you?"

She quirked an eyebrow, pulled back from him and kicked the door closed her before pulling her dress off in one swoop. She kicked off her sandals and stood there in only a pair of blue silk knickers. There was a hard tilt to her jaw, her eyes fierce and cold, as she pressed up against him and zipped open his trousers, fondling him as she steered him backwards towards the bed.

"Not talking, Caroline?" he asked archly.

"Later," she said crisply, as she stepped out of her knickers and pushed him back onto the bed.. He leaned back onto the sheets as she climbed on top of him, her strong fingers pumping his cock until it grew hard enough for her to sink onto, engulfing him in her heat.

She rode him hard and the bed groaned ominously, not built for vampire strength, but that only seemed to spur her on as she slipped a hand between her legs to touch herself, grinding down on him before rising and sinking again. It was a torturous affair, and he sought to hurry things along but she slapped his fingers away. Apparently the only thing she wanted from him right now was his cock.

Dark veins of hunger spidered across her cheekbones as her other hand travelled to her breasts and Klaus watched, fascinated as she teased herself expertly, plucking at her rosy nipples until they grew pebbled and hard under her touch. It was a tantalising vision, her strong body arched above him, sleek muscle coiling under her soft, youthful curves. She let out a breathless moan, her curls falling away from her face as her head lolled back, her eyes closing as she became lost in sensation.

He felt her flutter around him and then tighten in a spasm of pleasure as she bucked on his cock, and Klaus let go of the last tethers of his control and spilled into her, the hot flash of his pleasure momentarily overwhelming his good sense as he lunged for her hips, holding her fast as he thrust up into her. Her eyes shot open red and hungry, and she struck like a snake, her fangs, sinking into his carotid artery. For the first time since he started fucking Caroline, he truly knew he was in bed with another predator and the thought thrilled him. He felt himself harden again and rolled, pinning her underneath him as Caroline unlatched from his neck and glared up at him with a bloody mouth.

"Tut, tut," he said, as he pulled her hands over her head. "Such a messy eater. I'm going to have to punish you for that." He slammed into her, and her mouth fell open, her body arching up into his punishing pace. She liked a little pain with her pleasure, another delightful facet to Caroline's vampirehood, and one that he fully intended to exploit.

* * *

It was another hour before he led her back downstairs. After he made her scream and quake for him on the bed, he had taken her again in the shower, grinding himself into her ass as he plucked at her clit, making her shatter helplessly against him as she clung to the wet tile. Klaus has nothing against a woman who takes initiative in the bed, as long as she understood he would always make her pay for it in kind afterwards.

And after that they had fed. Some nameless boy with dark hair and sallow skin that Maddox had delivered to the room while he had been pleasuring Caroline in the other room. He was sure that the witch's thoughtful gift was meant to cause consternation and disturb their post coital moment but, for perhaps the first time in his life, his wily witch had misread the room. Caroline hadn't even blinked when they found him perched on the end of the bed but had padded across the room and sat beside him, slanting a hand against his neck until the quivering boy tilted his head away. She sank her her teeth greedily into him, and, for a moment he paused, treasuring the sight before him before joining her in their meal. Between them, they made quick work of it and when the boy's heart had fluttered to a standstill, Klaus had let the corpse fall back onto the ruined covers as Caroline stood up and began to dress from the shopping bags one of his minions had delivered during the day, encasing her breasts in a rather delightfully lacy concoction of pale pink, before slipping on a matching pair of knickers. She frowned before pulling out two dresses, one black and one red - both daring.

"Which one do you think says 'I'm going to destroy you' best?" she asks, almost coyly, and Klaus nonchalantly points at the red.

"So they can see the bloodstains, love," he says, and her smile widened viciously. To think he had initially been foolish enough to think that she'd flipped the switch, he couldn't have been more wrong. It turned out that there was only one thing for which Caroline Forbes would voluntarily thrash free from the dregs of her humanity and it was flooding through her right now like a white hot cleansing light.

The siren call of revenge.

* * *

Elena had almost fallen out of the boot when they wrenched it open, the momentum of her fists helping her along. On any other day, Caroline would have found the look of outrage on Elena's face almost funny. But this wasn't any other day and the urge to kill her and be done with it was singing in her veins.

"So what's the plan, love? Klaus asked, as he clamped a hand over Elena's mouth, and Caroline wondered if he were taunting her.

"Turn her, compel her, use her." She arched an eyebrow. "That's your specialty, isn't it?"

He smirked. "Tempting, sweetheart, but I want to try a little something else first. Something tells me I have may have found my missing ingredient."

For a moment she was lost, and then the pieces fell into place. "You need her blood to make Hybrids," she said, and his dimples deepened as he smiled.

" Doesn't mean we can't take a sip though," he said pulling Elena's hair back from her neck.

Caroline snorted. "Tacky."

He shrugged before biting into her throat, Elena screaming into his hand. A part of her cringed at the sight, wanting to help, but the memory of her mother's heart, in Stefan's hand easily quelled any lingering doubts. Elena was a pawn in this game, something to be used up and thrown away. Stefan had offered to turn her before the ritual and she'd refused. She had chosen to be prey and, well, that meant there were consequences...perhaps it was time for Elena to learn that lesson. Hesitantly, she stepped closer, her eyes drinking in the fear in Elena's eyes. Caroline has known Elena all her life, knew how to break her.

"Stefan killed my mother, Elena," she said, as she stroked the back of her hand against her cheek. Elena froze, and Caroline smiled inwardly. Oh yes, now she realised how much danger she was in. Time to initiate her into her new life as a vampire chew toy; Caroline bit deep and drank.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time Maddox had found them a new place to stay. Elena was propped up on the back seat, still unconscious from blood loss, and the wounds in her throat were still raw looking and unhealed. That had been Caroline's idea.

Klaus glanced over at Caroline in the passenger seat, noting the colour in her cheeks as she dozed. Feeding from the vein suited her, although he suspected her conscience would eventually resurface and put paid to that new development. Her weeks ahead will be filled with regrets but she would have to survive the next few days first and compassion wasn't a survival trait.

Her eyes flutter open and her hand darted out, falling on his leg. "Let's stop here first," she said, and Klaus noticed they had turned the corner onto Caroline's street.

"You can buy new clothes, love," he said, and she shook her head.

"Mom's weapon cache is in the basement," she explained.

"They're Originals, Caroline, bullets are not going to kill them."

"Perhaps not, but it will slow them down," she said, and opened the passenger door, almost daring him not to slow down. He rolled his eyes.

"Five minutes," he warned as he parked, and she nodded her head before blurring away. The lights from the SUV following them dipped as it overtook them, and Klaus waved Maddox on as he looked inquiringly out the window. For a moment, he allowed his mind to dwell on the situation. Ordinarily he would have little to fear from his sibling's machinations but Elijah's possession of a white oak stake it had changed the game somewhat. Would his brother really attempt to kill him? The truth was, he didn't really know and forever had ceased to be anything more than a meaningless platitude centuries ago.

* * *

It wasn't her home anymore. The realisation slowly sank into Caroline as she trailed down the hallway. The hall clock had already wound down and there was a damp chill in the air, the kind you find in an empty house. There was no warmth here anymore, no sense of family. The thought made her shiver as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Took you long enough," Stefan said, leaning back on the back legs of the kitchen chair, loaded crossbow held nonchalantly in his hands.

Caroline tensed, her eyes searching the corners as she listened for any sign he wasn't alone. "What are you doing here, Stefan?"

"I would have thought that was obvious, I'm here to kill you." he said.

"Oh _please_." Caroline rolled her eyes. "If that were true, I'd already be dead-" The creak of rubber gave her a split moment's warning and she ducked as the needle swung through the air. She grabbed the arm and swung him around to use as a shield just as she realised it was Alaric. The arrow in the bow loosened and embedded itself into his shoulder.

"You should have laid off the booze, Alaric," she hissed into his ear."You're not as light on your feet as you used to be." Stefan blurred and Caroline threw Alaric into his path as she darted for the door. She barely made it past the threshold before he caught up to her and slammed her up against the veranda post.

"No longer on the squirrel diet, Stefan?" she said, with a taunting smile. "What will Elena say?"

"I can smell her on you!" he growled. "You fed from her!"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "What - you thought you could kill my mother and there wouldn't be consequences. Haven't you heard? I'm not that _evolved_." She kneed him in the balls and he doubled over, but his hand still clutched her arm. He pulled another syringe from his jacket. "This is going to hurt," he said grimly.

"You're right about that," said Klaus, as he appeared from the shadows, his hand crushing Stefan's had and breaking the syringe, grinding the glass into his palm. The air scented with blood and vervain and Caroline felt around, and pulled one of the veranda's balustrade spindles free before breaking it over her knee. She lunged for Stefan, stake in hand, but he pulled left at the last moment and it sliced into Klaus's chest instead.

Caroline's eyes widened as she pulled it free, and Stefan twisted to the side, running into the dark. For a moment, she gazed after him longingly, the urge to kill him almost overwhelming, but her good sense prevailed. It was a trap. It had to be. For some strange reason, he had been trying to take her captive, not kill her.

She turned to Klaus, wincing as she realised he was still bleeding. "Is it bad?" she asked.

He grinned. "You can kiss it better later." His hand curled around hers as he dragged her towards the car. "Time to go, love, we're too vulnerable out here and I have a funny feeling my siblings are not far away."

Caroline pursed her lips, looking over shoulder one last time as Klaus dragged her to the car. She had lost her first opportunity to kill Stefan but she'd get another chance. In the meantime, she would find other ways to make him pay.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Stefan and Alaric had tried to vervain her. It was an uneasy thought. For some reason, they had wanted her alive, not dead, and no matter what way she looked it, Caroline couldn't see an upside to that revelation. There must be some angle she isn't seeing, maybe some game the other Original siblings were playing close to their chest - because something told Caroline that if it had been left to Stefan, she'd already be dead.

"Penny for your thoughts, love," Klaus asked, his fingers tangling in her hair as he tugged her closer. Dawn was beginning to slip through the chinks in the floral curtains that covered the small window. The bed they were lying in was also smaller than she's become accustomed to. Maddox had found them a less ostentatious new hideout to stay in, ostensibly to stay better hidden from the other Mikaelsons. It made sense, Caroline admitted to herself reluctantly, the Originals seemed to really buy into the champagne lifestyle. They'd probably find the idea of Klaus slumming it in a three bed ranch style bungalow too offensive even to contemplate. She swallowed a snort of laughter and then immediately felt the cold chill of guilt. For a tiny moment, an increment of a second, she had forgotten her mother was dead. Her hand curled on Klaus's chest, her nose burying deeper into his neck, and hoped his scent would ease the sharp stab of grief. His arm tightened reflexively around her.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, in a voice that seemed unsure about uttering such a request. She shook her head silently before pulling herself away from him and propping her head up on an elbow.

"Why would your siblings want me alive?" she asked. "They know I'm compelled, what use would I be to them?"

He looked away. "Who knows, love, maybe it's got something to do with the Bennett witch." Caroline pursed her lips. That didn't sit right in her mind.

"No, it's got to be something more than that."

"Maybe Elijah is still not over what you did to his little hideaway," Klaus said, with a little smirk. "He can hold a grudge."

"Yeah, already got that message," Caroline said, remembering the triumphant look in Elijah's eyes when ordered her mother's death. Klaus suddenly stiffened beside her and Caroline sat bolt upright, her senses spreading out to catch what he'd heard. "What is it?"

"Get dressed love," he said brusquely. "We have company."

"Your family?"

There was a wild eyed look in his eyes as he turned to glare at her. "Just get _dressed_."

Caroline's mouth went dry as she quickly threw on a pair of jeans and top, and a leather jacket over it. Vampires don't feel the cold. But leather is tougher to drive a stake though than silk. Klaus was already dressed by the time she'd finished and he put a finger to his lips. She could hear it now, a deep masculine snarl.

"Niklaus! I know you're in here." Caroline looked to Klaus for answers but none were forthcoming. They crept down the hall until they reached a window that overlooked the front lawn. An older man with dirty blonde hair and dusty clothes stood firmly in the middle of the lawn, the dawn light lighting up his features, and his cold, emotionless eyes. Behind him were two women that Caroline recognised, although she hadn't seen one of them since she was in middle school - Abby Bennett, Bonnie's Mom; she was muttering something under her breath, as was Lucy behind her. It was more than enough for Caroline to surmise that Abby was a witch too. Caroline gulped, talk about a plan backfiring. Klaus's grip on her arm tightened as he pulled her away from the window. His breath was warm against her ear as he whispered into it.

"Caroline, when I tell you to run, you _run._ Contact Elijah, tell him Mikael has come for us."

"What if he kills me before I get the words out," she hissed under her breath.

"Use this, sweetheart," he said, handing her a phone. Caroline felt momentarily foolish and palmed it, nodding. He nudged her towards the back door and she crept towards it, her eyes catching Maddox's as she passed the kitchen. His lips were moving, and Caroline suspected he was attempting to cancel out whatever Lucy and Abby were doing outside. She reached the back door and waited, and then eventually heard the screen door bang open.

"Father, it's been a while! Had a nice nap? You look a little peaky."

_Father?_ Caroline shook her head. No, no time to wonder, now it was time to run.

* * *

Klaus kept his eyes on the stake on Mikael's hands as he stepped onto the porch. The witches and Maddox were struggling with their own battle, over what he was not sure but something told him he would hear all about it if things did not go well for his witch. The sun topped the treeline, flooding the little clearing in golden light, but there was still a sense of foreboding in the air.

Mikael's lips pulled back in a snarl. "I have come for you, boy," he said, and Klaus shook off the sense of dread he felt and snarled back, showing his new visage.

"Come, father, lets see how well you do against my new self!

There was no hesitation, Mikael threw himself at him like a man possessed, stake raised high. Klaus feinted left and ran right, arm raised to catch his attack. His father didn't disappoint, closing in for a strike, and Klaus bit down the moment he was in reach. His hybrid venom wouldn't kill Mikael of course, but it would disorientate him if given long enough to take effect. Surprised, Mikael fell back for a moment, and Klaus took the moment's reprieve to kick him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

A splitting pain shot through his skull and Klaus glared at the two Bennett witches, who had split up and were now circling to opposite sides of the clearing. A clever move, for he didn't know which one was attacking him and which one was keeping Maddox busy. He tried to concentrate on his father, who was now circling him warily, but the pain made it hard to think clearly. Mikael struck again, this time going low, obviously hoping to strike up through his chest cavity. Klaus rolled to the left at the last moment, and looked around for a potential weapon, something to quell him for more than a few seconds. The venom must be taking effect by now but Klaus couldn't see it in his movements.

Suddenly, Mikael burst into flame and Klaus let out a small laugh. Somehow, Maddox had managed to circumvent his father's daylight ring. The witch appeared at the doorway and sagged against it as blood seeped from his nose.

"The younger witch is strong, but the older one doesn't have any power," he said through gritted teeth. "She's just going through the motions." Klaus's eyebrows rose. Bonnie Bennett's mother was a powerless witch? Mikael's roar of outrage rang through the clearing as he ran towards the bungalow and Maddox quickly stepped back through the threshold a moment before Mikael reach it. His hands dug into the wooden siding of the house, setting it alight. Smoke inhallation would eventually force Maddox, whose name was on the deed, to leave the house, but the combination of the venom and flame was beginning to affect Mikael, With a grunt he stumbled off the porch and ran for the shelter of the trees.

Klaus got to his feet, and eyed the burning bungalow. It looked like they needed to find yet another abode. He sighed, knowing he would have to reenter the building in order to release Elena from her compulsion not to move. Soot was always difficult to wash out of his hair.

* * *

Caroline waited until they reached a road before she pulled the phone out. For a moment, her mind blanked. She only had a handful of phone numbers memorised and the landline for Klaus's mansion wasn't one of them. She searched through the phone's memory, hoping the Klaus had programmed a few numbers in and smiled when she found a local landline number programmed into it.

" _Who is this?_ "

Caroline froze, of course it would be Stefan who answered the phone. She just couldn't get a break. "I need to talk to Elijah," she said curtly.

" _Caroline_ ," he drawled. " _I'm sorry, I'm afraid Elijah can't come to the phone right now. Perhaps_ I _can help you?_ "

Liar, Liar, Caroline thought, but her mind was reeling. Was Elijah truly not available or was Stefan trying to manipulate the situation in his favour. She would bet on the latter - but she would also bet on the fact Stefan didn't realise how acute an Original's hearing is. "Well," she said aloud. "I guess that means Elijah isn't interested in Mikael's arrival in Mystic F-"

Caroline smiled as she heard another receiver pick up " _Miss Forbes,_ " Elijah said flatly. " _What is it you know about Mikael?"_

"I know Daddy is in town and he has a couple of Bennett witches in tow, and he's pissed. I'm guessing you still have Bonnie locked up in the basement? I think it's safe to say they'll be gunning for you."

" _She's a Bennett?_ " said another faint voice. The crazy one who got his jollies out of compelling people to kill one one another. She did _not_ like the sound of glee in his voice.

" _Not the time, Kol_ ," Elijah said, his tone severe, but Caroline felt something inside her sink. Something told her Bonnie's time was running out and she already knew she couldn't trust Stefan to keep her safe. Caroline stiffened her spine. She needed to keep her eyes on the prize - making Stefan _pay_.

"Can we hurry this along," Caroline said. "I'm burning daylight here."

_"_ _If you tell us where you are, we could come to some arrangement-"_

"No," Caroline said coldly. "Any chance of us coming to any sort of arrangement died when you killed my mother. I'm given you a heads up because Klaus asked me to. That's all you're getting."

There was a pause on the other side of the phone. " _I still have your friend Bonnie._ "

Caroline bit back a laugh. "And seeing as you have two Bennett witches bearing down on you, you're going to have her for a little bit longer. Try a threat you can follow through on-"

A blur pushed past her, snatching the phone from her hand, and Caroline spun, her eyes widening as she realised who it was.

" _Miss Forbes?_ " Elijah's voice was tinny but still audible, and Katherine held the phone up to ear.

"Sorry, Elijah, Caroline can't come to the phone right now."

" _Katerina!_ " Katherine hung up the phone and smiled like a shark. Suddenly few things fell into place.

"It was you," she said, through gritted teeth. "You were the one who led Mikael here."

"I think you would be better served thinking about your current problem now, don't you?" Katherine asked, prowling closer. and Caroline suddenly remembered that she had five centuries on her and had fed over the last couple of days.

"Why did you come back?" she blurted out.

Katherine shrugged. "I knew it was just a matter of time before Klaus came after me once he'd broken the curse. Think of it as a preemptive strike….although, if I had realised the other Originals had been awakened, I might have waited a few days and given them a few days to thrash things out before introducing Mikael to the brew." "

"You should have just run, Katherine," she said. "You're not going to survive this."

Katherine smiled, all teeth. "And _you_ are? You're smart, Caroline, smarter than most people realise, you must have realised by now you're not going to survive this. In the grand scheme of things, you're just not important enough."

Caroline snorted, tell her something she didn't know. She crossed her arms, jutting her chin out stubbornly. "I'm smart enough not to blurt out my evil plans before I try and kill someone," she said. "Isn't that right, Klaus?"

Katherine's eyes widened as she spun on her heels, and Caroline _ran_. A split second later, she heard Katherine curse as she realised she'd been duped, but by then Caroline had already veered down an embankment and towards a gully she knew was just out of view. She heard movement in the brush behind her and knew she couldn't outrun the older vampire, she'd have to outsmart her instead. She looked above, and leaped for a high branch, pulling herself up. Katherine swept below her and Caroline leaped onto her back, snapping her neck. They fell to the ground together.

Stumbling to her feet, Caroline stared down at the temporarily dead vampire. The pragmatic part of her insisted she break off a branch and stake her before she awoke but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Annoyed with herself, she ran back to the road and headed towards town. This time she _was_ going to raid her Mom's secret weapons stash. Stefan and Alaric couldn't stake out the place forever.


	19. Chapter 19

The house was an inferno by the time Klaus pulled away, the flames eating away at the frame and licking at the roof. The Doppelganger was asleep on the back seat, and Maddox was sitting glumly in the passenger seat. The first number he tried was the phone he’d given Caroline but it rang out. He frowned, that was unlike her. At the very least he would have expected a text. A ignored the nagging feeling of unease he felt and rang his house's landline.

 “ _Katerina?_ ”

 "Klaus's eyebrows went up. Ah, so the Petrova doppelganger was involved in this debacle. It explained a lot. “Brother,” he said. “We have been busy.”

 There was a heavy pause. “ _Niklaus_ , _what is this I hear of Mikael?_ ”  

 So Caroline had been able to contact them. He felt a jolt of relief as he realised whatever trouble she’d gotten herself into, it wasn’t Mikael. “Yes,” he said aloud. “He paid me a visit this morning and I gave him a taste of what a hybrid bite can feel like. It was very entertaining but I suspect he’ll be back to full force by this evening.Tell me, brother, are you running, or are we going to fight this time?”

 There was another pause and then he heard another phone being lifted from its cradle. “ _How do we even know you’re telling us the truth. This could be just another trick to get us on side as you plot to dagger us again_ ,” Rebekah hissed.

 Klaus rolled his eyes. “Now, now, sister dearest, let bygones be bygones.”

 “ _Why you little-”_

  _“Rebekah,”_ Elijah interjected. “ _Perhaps now is not the time_.”

 “ _Oh please, as if you weren’t thinking the exact same thing.Are you really going to let him get away with this?”_

 Klaus rolled his eyes. “As entertaining as this is, can we pause this little spat and focus on our immediate problem. Our father seemed very perturbed and has somehow joined forces with two Bennett witches-”

 “ _Yes, yes, your little minion filled us in on that little matter,_ ” Elijah said impatiently.

“Oh yes, and what else did dear Caroline say?” Klaus asked coolly.

“ _Not much, it seems she’s fallen foul of Katerina_.”

A cool chill ran down Klaus’s spine.”Perhaps you should elaborate on that.”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “ _Katerina interrupted our conversation and then the line went dead.”_

“I see,” Klaus said crisply. “I shall be there for lunch. I do hope you haven’t killed my chef.” He hung up the phone.

“Katherine Pierce is back in town,” he said to Maddox. “And Caroline has had a run in with her.”

“Well, i guess her luck had to run out sometime,” Maddox murmured, and at any other time Klaus would have commended him on keeping the smugness out of his voice.

 “I wouldn’t count her out just yet,” he said, glancing into the rear view window at Elena’s slumped figure. “Are the remaining dregs of Mason Lockwood’s pack still camped out by the foot of the falls?”

 “There are only two. A woman named Jules and a boy called Ethan. They believe they’ve being stealthy, and have asked for help from a pack in the Appalachian Mountains,” Maddox said dryly.

 A cold smile spread across his face. “Well, then, time to correct that little mistaken belief.”

 

* * *

 

Caroline leapt into to the veranda’s roof of her home and, holding her breath, forced the latch of the gable window as she pushed it open. To her ears, the sound seemed to be thunderous but Alaric’s movements or breath didn’t change.  He had raided her mother’s drinks cabinet and she wrinkled her nose as she crept onto the upstairs landing, taking off her shoes before she made her way to the top of the stairs. Having grown up in the house, she knew every cranny and every creak.She could still smell the blood from his wound through the antiseptic bandages he used, which meant he had refused Stefan’s blood. A pity she hadn’t hit his dominant shoulder but she would lay odds he was on painkillers. He definitely wasn’t taking Jenna’s death well and even a week ago she would have felt more sympathy for his situation, but her Mom was dead and he was hanging out with her killer. She came to a standstill as a thought came to her. Mom’s vampire killing weapon’s stash was in the basement but her normal spare piece was kept in the gun safe in her bedroom. She grinned as she realised she was the only one who knew its location or combination.

 She tiptoed into her mother’s bedroom and ignored the tears stinging her eyes as she examined the room for signs of tampering. It looked like Stefan hadn’t bothered to search her room, so why was Alaric still doing here? Had he also known about Mom’s weapons stash? If so, why hadn’t they just taken it and left?

  _Too_ many questions

 She opened the  closet and pulled back the mat that covered her Mom’s gun safe, gently spinning the dial until it clicked open. She reached in and pulled out her Mom’s glock. She had actually spent time at the range with this gun. At the time, she had chalked her mother’s insistence that she learn up to paranoia, but now she wondered. If she hadn't been turned, would her Mom have eventually told her about the Council? Another question without an answer. The front door opened and was slammed shut and Caroline froze.  

 “ _Alaric_ ,” Stefan called out and her eyes narrowed, the urge to rush downstairs and pounce on him almost overwhelming, but she glanced down at the glock in her hand. It was more than enough to cow Alaric but Stefan would just shrug away the bullets, especially now he was back on human blood. She needed to be smart and wait.

 “ _Hey man_ ,” Alaric called back, his voice slurred with alcohol. She heard Stefan sigh.

 “ _You need to lay off this stuff,_ ” he told Alaric. “ _It makes you messy_.”

 “ _And slow,_ ” Alaric added. “ _Don’t forget slow_.” Caroline rolled her eyes.

 There was another sigh. _“Listen, Alaric, plans have changed. Klaus has thrown his lot in with his family to stop this guy called Mikael. We need to come up with another strategy._ ”

  _“Who the hell is MIkael?_ ”

 “ _Not important. The only thing we need to know is that that Klaus and his family are scared of him, and that the Bennett witches are helping him._ ”

 “ _You’re saying we should swap teams_ ” Alaric said slowly.

  _“It’s the only way we can avenge Jenna and Damon, and save Elena_ ,” Stefan told him, and Caroline’s eyes narrowed. It sounded like Alaric didn’t know it was Bonnie’s spell that had killed Jenna .

 “ _I’ll go with you_ ,” Alaric said, and Caroline brightened. Maybe she wouldn’t have to wave a gun in Alaric’s face after all.

“ _This guy sounds dangerous, Alaric, and as you won’t drink my blood to heal you’d only be in my way._ ” Stefan said.

 “I _told you why I won't drink it_  ” Alaric said. “ _There are too many ways I could end up dead at the moment. I don’t want to risk turning_.”

  _“Then we'll_ _stick to our plan and you'll wait for her_ _here. Eventually she’s going to come for her passport_ _and documents. There is no way she’s going to hang around now she knows I know she killed Damon. It’s only a matter of time.”_

 Caroline swallowed a snort of disbelief. Stefan actually though she was going to _run_. She hunkered down and waited for Stefan to leave. At least now she knew where to find Klaus -  with his family.

 She didn’t know how she felt about that.

 

* * *

 

Jules and the boy didn’t even have time to think of running. He and Maddox were upon them before they could roll out of their sleeping bags.  

“Tut, tut,” Klaus said, as they knelt before him,their hands clutching at their heads and Maddox seared them with pain. “You’re not very good at this hiding thing, are you?  Perhaps you should have read a book or taken a course-” He grabbed the boy’s hair and tilted his head up. “Or stayed in school. How old are you, boy?”

 “Eighteen,” the boy spat out, rage simmering in his eyes. _Liar_ , Klaus thought, as he moved onto the woman. She was attractive, Klaus noted, and had more than a passing resemblance to the boy beside her. They both had fair hair and blue eyes, as well as the same pronounced cheekbones.

 “Siblings?” Klaus asked.

 “Cousins,” Jules said reluctantly, before lowering her eyes. Klaus smirked, so she had sharp enough instincts to recognise a more powerful alpha. A factor that will become amplified once she was sired to him.

 He bit into his wrist and held it to mouth. At first she refused, keeping her mouth shut, but he held her gaze, his pupils dilating as he compelled her. “ _Drink._ ”

 The boy let out a whimper when he snapped her neck but didn’t move. Klaus smiled coldly at him, he would have preferred a more mature male, but beggars can’t be choosers.

 

* * *

After what seemed like an age,during which Stefan plied Alaric with coffee and filled him in what had transpired at the Mikaelson house, he eventually left, saying that he was going to try to get into the Bennet house. Caroline smirked, knowing that Bonnie had never given him an invite, so he’ll probably have to compel a human to do it for him - which gave her time to arm. She blurred down the stairs and swung into the kitchen, gun extended.

 “Don’t move!”

 “Do you even know how to use that thing?” Alaric asked, as he tried to get to his feet.

 

“Seriously?”Caroline shot him the leg and he clutched at it, letting out a yelp of pain as he fell back into the chair, his crossbow falling to the floor. He wasn’t screaming so he had to be tranked up to the eyeballs. “I’m the only child of a town sheriff who also happened to be a single mom. Do the math, Alaric. Move again at it will be the other leg.” She slid over to the counter and then threw him a towel.” You better tie that off with a tourniquet. You’re bleeding out and you’re going to be here for a while.”

 “I need a doctor,” he hissed.

 “You need your head examined,” she snapped. “What the hell were you thinking,  going up against a bunch of ancient unkillable vampires?” She held up a pair of handcuffs. “Let me introduce you to my cellar.”

 Twenty minutes later, not only had she changed her clothes and tidied her hair,  she had packed her mother’s vervain ammo and her weaponry into Alaric’s SUV, which was parked down the road. She’d even found a magazine that fit the glock ,and she smiled triumphantly as she loaded the weapon. Bonnie’s house was only few blocks over but she decided to move the SUV anyway, just in case Stefan got away from her and doubled back. She was leaving nothing to chance.

 The first thing she noticed was Stefan’s car and she slowed, her eyes on alert. She quickly realised they're was no need. Stefan wasn't exactly being covert. Bonnie’s front door was a gaping hole and culprit was pacing the veranda impatiently. “Are you sure you can’t find anything?” he called inside.

 “No, there’s nothing here.”

 Caroline’s mouth went dry. She recognised that voice. It was Matt’s. She hadn’t seen him since that time he helped her mother and that asshole GIlbert to trap her. How could she have been stupid? Of _course_ Stefan would use him against her. He was easy meat.

 Her mouth straightened into a thin line as she stepped into Stefan’s eyeline, and took aim and fired before he could react. She missed his heart by less than inch and he staggered back, his eyes widening as he realised the bullets were wood tipped and vervain soaked. She fired again, winging him in the leg as he blurred for cover. Matt stepped out onto the veranda, a crossbow in his hand. Caroline’s eyes widened as he took aim and fired, and she ducked. The arrow struck the lawn to her left. His human reflexes weren’t able to keep up.She raised her weapon and hit the veranda deck an inch from his feet.

 “Stay out of this, Matt,” she warned him, but it was too late. Stefan had leapt back onto the veranda and grabbed Matt by the neck, holding him in front of him like a shield.

 “Throw the gun away, Caroline,” he said. “I promise to make it quick.”

 “I don’t believe you,” she said.

 “I’ll kill him,”  Stefan said, and Matt’s eyes widened as he realised for the first time the danger he was in.

 “You’ll kill him anyway,” Caroline said. “Just like you killed my mother.”  The words struck home to her intended target - Matt. He began to struggle, and Stefan grimaced. The moment Matt was dead, he no longer had a shield, but Matt was also on vervain, so he couldn’t compel him to be still.

He threw Matt at her, and he flew through the air like a rag doll. Caroline darted to break his fall and, by the time she looked around again, he was gone. Matt struggled in her hold and she let go. He stepped back,  eyeing her warily.

 “You better run, Matt,” she said. “Get out of town for a few days.”

 “What about you, he asked hoarsely, rubbing his throat.”

 Caroline smiled at him sadly. “Goodbye, Matt, have a nice life.”

 “He nodded slowly. “I’m sorry about Liz,” he offered as he backed away.

 Caroline’s smile fell away as she watched him hurry down the street. Yeah, everyone was sorry except for the one guy who should be. She turned and eyed Stefan’s vintage Porsche, noticing the keys that were still in the ignition. Her smile returned. She could be petty.

 

* * *

 

Klaus sulked in his chair. The atmosphere at the Mikaelson table was chilly to say the least, and it wasn’t improved by the wine choice. The meal’s only saving grace was that they’d obviously held onto his chef.

“I think your guests are awake,” Elijah said tersely, and sure enough, he could hear the voices of Ethan and Jules in the basement, snapping loudly at the Bennett girl. Not literally, thankfully. He would not like to explain to Caroline how he had gotten her witch accidentally dead.

 “They’ll keep,” Klaus said and indeed they would. Klaus had left a vial of the Doppelganger’s blood for each of them with their chain’s reach, If they did not wish to partake of it...well, then they truly were too stupid to live. Nevertheless, Maddox shifted behind him.

 “Shall I check - just in case the Bennett witch tries something.” Klaus nodded and Maddox disappeared from the room.

 “Speaking of chains,” Klaus said. “My first stipulation for this charade is that we put the Salvatore boy on a leash. He needs to learn some manners.”

 “The _boy_ is under our protection,” Rebekah disagreed. “And, while we’re at it, you will lift that little compulsion you’ve laid on him.”

 And what do you think is going to happen then, Rebekah? That he’s going to fall into you waiting arms. I’m afraid he’s moved onto another lover, sister. Maybe you’ve heard of her? Elena Gilbert, the Doppelganger in your basement - but, no matter, this point is non negotiable. The Ripper will gravitate towards the force that puts him in opposition to me and so cannot be trusted.”

 “He only wants to kill the girl, not you,” Rebekah said archly. “Not gotten attached, have we? After all, it’s a small price to pay for ridding ourselves of our dear father once and for all...and speaking of unfinished business, where is your dear Caroline?“

 Klaus willed himself not show anything on his face. “We were separated during our little kerfuffle this morning but I’ve no doubt she will arrive directly. She is a resourceful little minx. As for Stefan, if you think he doesn’t blame me for his brother’s death, now that he knows she was under my compulsion, then you’re an idiot.” It was a half truth, which inferred Caroline had been directly compelled to kill Damon, rather than just cornered into it. But needs must, and he needed to sow distrust into this alliance. He turned to Elijah. “I believe there are a free set of chains available downstairs, now that you’ve disposed of the Sheriff?”

 “Wait a minute, we haven’t finished this discussion yet!” protested Rebekah.

 Kol rolled his eyes. “Let it be, Bekah, he only asked that young Salvatore be locked up, not for his head. You said yourself that NIk actually liked him back in the day.”

 “Although I’m less enamoured with the current incarnation,”  Klaus added under his breath.

"She killed his brother,” Rebekah said. “He has every right to be angry.”

 “She killed her rapist,” Klaus retorted, and Rebekah blinked. “Ah, he forewent to mention that part did he?”

 “It didn’t come up,” she admitted reluctantly.

 “But there is someone coming up the driveway in a vehicle,” Finn said, his eyes moving to the dining room door.  

 “Not again,” Rebekah muttered. “We just got the foyer patched up from the last incident.”

 Klaus smiled as they all tensed at the table, ready for another attack, but the car came to sedate halt. He recognised the knock and he was already getting out of his seat, when he heard Caroline’s clear voice.

 “ _Caroline Forbes_ ,” she said. “ _I’m with Klaus. My luggage is in the trunk, thanks_ ”

 Klaus smirked as he stepped into the foyer. “I see it didn’t take you long to find me….is that Stefan’s Porsche?”

 “Stefan is kind of a blather mouth,” she said, with a shrug. “And doesn’t lock his car. Who knew?” She came to a halt. “Do I smell food?

Klaus laughed.

 

* * *

 

This was probably the dumbest idea she ever had, she should have waited in Klaus’s room. She had been sitting at the table for less than ten minutes and Klaus had already stabbed Kol’s hand with cheese fork after he'd compelled the chef to slit a wrist and serve his blood for dessert.

 It went downhill from there.

 The idea had been to make herself irreplaceable to the other siblings, but she had a funny feeling she would only be collateral in their eyes. The sooner she could get out from under their thumb, the better - but she needed Bonnie’s help to do that.

 The battle between the two brothers  spilled out into the foyer, and Caroline sighed as the other siblings followed them out, treating it like a spectator sport.  She poured herself a glass of red and sunk lower into her chair. The longer this went on, the closer Stefan got to tracking down Mikael and telling him everything he knew.

 Eventually, Elijah intervened - and by intervened, Caroline meant he used the remains of the dining chair to attach Kol to the wall. She would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy that. She hadn’t forgotten how he’s compelled Stefan to kill Bonnie.

 Elijah made a show of fixing his cuff links. “I think it’s time we discussed our future plans.” he said.”If, as Miss Forbes has said, Stefan Salvatore has joined our father in his crusade to kill us. I think we  may expect a visit soon.

 “We could relocate to the Lockwood mansion again,” Caroline murmured to Klaus. “Stefan lost his invite when Carol died.”

 “But our father will still be able to find us, with the help of the Bennett witches,” Rebekah said.

 Maddox gave a polite cough as he rejoined them and Caroline turned to look at him. "Actually, it’s witch, not witches. The one called Abby Bennett has no power.”

 Caroline raised an eyebrow. “You mean she’s a squib?” Maddox grimaced, getting the reference, but the rest looked at her blankly. That’s what she got for hanging out with dinosaurs.

“I don’t believe she was always without power,” he said. “Her mother was powerful and so was her daughter. Magic that great rarely skips a generation.”

 She saw her opportunity and leapt at it. “So we use our Bennett witch to cancel out their Bennett Witch. You said it  yourself, Bonnie is powerful, and Bonnie works from the same Grimoire so she'll know her tricks." Although not powerful enough to get out of chains, Caroline ruefully thought. Klaus threw her an amused look.

 “I know you’re eager to free your friend, Sweetheart, but something tells me Bonnie won’t be eager to help.”

 She turned to him. “Let me at least try _._ If you promise not to hurt her Mom,she might help.”

Klaus rolled his eyes and looked at Elijah. Caroline stiffened, despite herself; she had not forgotten Elijah’s part in her Mother’s death, and had wondered if her mother would still be alive today if she hadn’t listened to Klaus and staked him with the wood from Wickory bridge.  She didn’t like the fact Klaus seemed to want his opinion despite all that had happened, and she was reminded that the Mikaelsons were family. She knew Klaus enjoyed having her around but given the choice…?

 No, she could not afford for that to happen.

 With a nod, Elijah led the way into the basement. "Let us get this over with."

 

TBC


End file.
